Wildfire

[SPIRIT]

 
Chapter 1

Turaga Vakama’s eyes snapped open and his right hand instinctively shot for his Firestaff. It was still there; that was a good sign.

 

He lit the end of his tool and checked the grey fieldstone-bricked walls of the room for anything out of place. Seeing nothing, he sat up in his bed and checked the wooden rafters above as well. After five minutes of searching had turned up no assassins, Vakama felt it was safe to get up and start the day.

To the outsider, it might seem as though Vakama was paranoid, but you never can be too cautious– especially when you are at war.

Vakama hobbled across the room using his Firestaff to support himself, unbarred the shutters on his window, and opened them so that he could watch the sun rise above the eastern horizon of the island of Mata Nui. The familiar scent of sea water and volcano smoke made the Turaga feel at ease. When the complete golden orb of the sun had become fully visible, he closed and barred the shutters and then left his chamber.

It was at this time that the Ta-Matoran would awakening in their bunkers and then prepare themselves for their morning meal and begin either training or work in the forges. This was their daily schedule and had been this way for centuries. The only time it ever deviated from this was during an attack. There had not been an attack for several weeks so Vakama took this opportunity to get the troops ready. In any case, he was developing a military strategy that would certainly give them the upper hand. Even so, a little extra preparation could not hurt.

Vakama made his way to Captain Jaller’s office so they could discuss the captain’s recent report. He arrived outside Jaller’s door and knocked on it. A sleepy groan from inside indicated that the door would be answered shortly. While waiting patiently, Vakama’s eyes wandered towards the sign above the door indicating that this was the office of Captain Jaller. The sign itself, although quite old, was still newer than the wall upon which it hung. This was because of the Naming Day ceremony in Jaller’s honour when he was promoted to captain not long after the beginning of the war. A new name meant a new sign and since Jaller was captain, he got one.

Vakama’s train of thought was abruptly halted as the yawning figure of Jaller opened the door for him. Suddenly noticing who was at his door, Jaller leapt to attention. His right hand whizzed up to his yellow Great Hau and hit it with a soft ping.

"At ease, Captain," said Vakama emotionlessly "What is this I hear of a rebellion?"

"Well sir, I’ve hear rumours that a Ta-Matoran named Vohon may be trying to get the troops to desert."

"Indeed..." said Vakama thoughtfully. "Order all the Ta-Matoran to assemble in the main courtyard. I have an announcement to make."

"And what about Vohon, sir?" asked Jaller.

"I will deal with him," said Vakama coldly "You are dismissed, Captain."

Jaller gave a slight bow and left to gather the troops. While he did this, Vakama returned to his chamber. With a little difficulty, he pushed his bed aside and revealed a small trap door beneath it. Checking to see no one was watching, Vakama lifted the door and descended the stone steps which it concealed into darkness. He ignited his Firestaff for illumination and surveyed his secret chamber.

The room was small with only three walls and the staircase which led back up to the trapdoor. It was completely bare except for a large dome which lay on the ground. It was roughly twice the size of Turaga Vakama and seemed to be made of a substance that was a like metallic form of sandstone. Into the dome’s gleaming, red edge, six life- sized faces were carved. Vakama knew that someday those faces would all hold masks of power– much like the way his own face held an orange Noble Huna. When that day came, he was certain that the war would end not long after. After running an aged hand over the dome’s smooth surface to see that it was still as perfect as the day he had carved it, Vakama turned to leave.

"Soon" he muttered to himself as he extinguished his Firestaff and closed the trap door on the secret room. Once his bed had been pushed back in place, it seemed as though nothing had happened. Checking his room one last time for spies, Vakama left and headed towards the main courtyard.

Turaga Vakama arrived to see well over one hundred Ta-Matoran assembled before a podium. He ascended three stairs to get to the stage upon which the podium sat. To his right stood Captain Jaller who was standing at attention with unnaturally straight posture. To Vakama’s left was the Le-Matoran ambassador, Tamaru, who gazed upon the crowd mildly. With a small tap of his Firestaff on the stage to indicate he was ready to speak, Vakama addressed the crowd.

"Fellow Ta-Matoran, I have assembled you here to discuss a grave matter. It has come to my attention that one amongst you is a traitor. This individual seeks to destroy all we have fought for during these many years of war. This individual wishes to throw it all away for, as I suspect, personal gain. If any of you have any information about this particular Matoran, please come forward now."

The crowd fell silent.

"Of course," he continued in a gravely voice barely above a whisper "Not only would such a person be betraying Ta-Koro, but they would also be betraying the Great Spirit."

Murmuring broke out in the crowd and Vakama began to speak a little louder.

"For did not he grant us the three virtues long ago? Have you, perhaps, forgotten them? If you wish to win this war then you must follow them! Unity, duty, manifest destiny!" he cried boldly.

"Unity, duty, manifest destiny!" the crowd echoed. Vakama stepped down from the podium and summoned Jaller close to his side to give him a quick command.

"Double Vohon’s wood collection quota from the Charred Forest for today; if he protests, switch his food rations with the wood he collects."

"Yes sir" said Jaller without hesitation. After saluting, Jaller went back to his office to plan the next battle strategy with Tamaru. As the crowd slowly dispersed with the Ta-Matoran setting off to do their duties, Vakama could not help smiling malevolently to himself.

1 000 years earlier...

Whenua’s hands were shaking in excitement. All he needed to do was to win this disk flip and he would be one rich Matoran. If he lost, well, he would have to give up quite a bit of money he did not have which would result in quite a bit of trouble. In any case, Whenua was feeling confident tonight– he could not possibly lose.

The Le-Matoran sitting opposite of him was named Tuuli and he was in charge of this secret gambling ring located near the Notch at the edge of Le-Metru. The game he and Whenua were playing was a very simple one– this was because Whenua was not very good at understanding Chutespeak so he could not understand the rules of the more complicated games. All Whenua had to do was to fire a modified Kanoka out of a modified disk launcher; if it landed with the side showing the symbol of Le-Metru on it facing up, he won. The Kanoka had been modified so that it was equally likely to land on either side and the launcher was modified to slow down the disk so it did not gain enough speed to unleash its power.

Tuuli handed the disk and launcher to Whenua who took a deep breath and fired the disk. It bounced all around the small hut and then landed on the table and began to spin around so fast it appeared to have formed a sphere. Soon it lost momentum and slowly spun to a stop. When the ordeal was over, Whenua saw that it had landed blank side up. That meant he had lost.

The Onu-Matoran tried to explain to Tuuli that he would pay him later, but Tuuli had learned from years of experience that ‘later’ often took quite a while. Whenua fell out of his chair and backed into a corner as Tuuli angrily demanded the money from him in rapid Chutespeak. Whenua tried explaining his situation one last time, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears. The last thing he remembered was a green fist coming uncomfortably close to his mask which was shortly followed by unconsciousness.

 

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Edited March 10, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 2

It was finished– finally finished. Turaga Onewa tapped the giant wall with his Stone Hammer to test its sturdiness. Judging by the fact that not even dust came off of the wall, Onewa was absolutely certain that this would keep invading enemies from entering Po-Wahi.

The Turaga of Po-Koro turned around to survey the region of Mata Nui which the new wall encircled. A vast desert with sporadic rock outcroppings stretched all the way to the horizon. In the distance, he could make out the canyon into which the village of Po-Koro had been carved. Now that he and the Po-Matoran had completed the wall that surrounded Po-Wahi, Turaga Onewa felt a newfound sense of security– one which he had not experienced for centuries. Now the Wahi was safe and could not be taken from him. It was his, all his. He finally had complete control over his territory. Onewa shook his head abruptly.

No, it’s not a territory, he thought to himself It’s a Wahi, a Wahi. I am not some Rahi that accumulates territory, I am a Turaga that rules over a Wahi.

While he thought this, his hands began to shake as the Turaga of Stone fought to suppress the primal urges he had inside. He drew a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before mounting his blue Nui-Jaga scorpion and riding back to Po-Koro. As he went through the desert, he remarked on how much power he was able to have over this Rahi by using his Noble Mask of Mind Control. Realizing this gave him hope that perhaps he might one day have complete mastery over the beast within.

When he returned to Po-Koro, he saw that all the villagers were following Hewkii in their daily session of Kolhii Battle Training. It was a very simple, yet effective form of training which had been invented by Hewkii himself and ultimately led to Hewkii's Naming Day ceremony. Kolhii taught the villagers how to fight by using small, specially crafted boulders called Kolhii balls. Every Po-Matoran was able to kick a Kolhii ball with pinpoint precision at any target and do so with such force that the target either fell over or was destroyed.

A few minutes later, Hewkii ended the training session and the villagers of Po-Koro all went off to the nearby quarry where they carved more Kolhii balls as well as statues in Turaga Onewa’s honour. Hewkii made his way to the Turaga who nodded, gesturing for the tan Po-Matoran to speak.

"Turaga, the shipment of Kolhii balls is almost ready. When will the Ga-Koro ships arrive for them as well as soldiers?" he asked wiping some dust off of his dark orange Great Kakama.

"In one week," Onewa replied "We still need time for extra training before we make a direct assault."

"What about what the Ga-Koro astrologer, Nixie, said?" enquired Hewkii.

"Nokama will do as she see fit. If the Red Star does continue on its current path, then she will be able to direct the boats accordingly."

"Turaga, what if the astrologer is correct? How can we be certain we will get there first?"

Onewa thought for a bit and then replied, "fetch Hafu from the quarries. I will need him to lead a team to carve decoy soldiers so that we can fool the enemy into thinking we know nothing."

Hewkii bowed and set off for the quarry leaving Turaga Onewa once again to his thoughts.

"After all these years..." he sighed to himself as he absentmindedly picked sand from out of the grooves in tan Noble Komau "The Toa are finally coming."

1 000 years earlier...

When Whenua awoke, his head ached terribly. His vision was completely out of focus and he was certain that there was a small dent in his black Great Ruru from where Tuuli had hit him. After he had gained his bearings, he got up and looked around. The black Onu-Matoran saw that he had been lying just outside of the Onu-Metru Archives and due to the fact that the twin suns had just risen, it was clearly early dawn.

Whenua tried to ignore his worries about whether or not anyone had seen him lying there and looked around to see if he still had his pack. Since he did not see it, he concluded that Tuuli must have taken it as payment. In his pack, Whenua used to keep his schedule, which was very important to him because no matter how good Whenua’s memory of the past was, he was never too good at remembering plans for the future. He racked his brain to try to remember what it was that he was supposed to do today, but he came up blank. Finally giving up, Whenua trudged stiffly to his office hoping that he might find hints about his plans for the day in there.

As an archivist, Whenua’s desk was very cluttered with things to remember, things to do, things forgotten, things to remember to forget to do, et cetera, et cetera. On top of this pile of papers, tablets, and electronic notepads was a notice telling Whenua that a shipment of Bohrok had just come in from the Onu-Metru mines and was ready for him to pick up at the docks. Assuming that the Bohrok had been his planned task, Whenua rushed off to collect it.

Whenua spent hours studying the Bohrok in his office. He watched how its joints moved, he remarked on the white colouration, how it fit into its canister, how it could curl up into a perfect sphere, and he even plucked up enough courage to study the sky blue Krana held in the Bohrok’s head.

Using standard archivist tools, Whenua opened the transparent protective shell on the Bohrok’s head and pried the Krana– which appeared to act as brain for the Bohrok, but since every Bohrok ever discovered appeared to be asleep, it was never seen in action– out with a loud squelch. After putting the slimy, square Krana carefully into a special stasis container, the Onu-Metru archivist sat down for a small break.

Suddenly the door burst open and a black Matoran wearing a purple Great Pakari ran into the room.

"What is it, Onepu?" Whenua asked.

"Aha! I found you!" cried Onepu triumphantly "Everyone’s been looking for you. Some Ga-Matoran teacher was here a while ago, asking about a tour you were supposed to give her and her class."

Whenua’s eyes went wide as he suddenly remembered about the tour which had been planned for today.

"I- I- I completely forgot! Where is she now?" stammered Whenua.

"I think she went to Po-Metru instead," said Onepu shrugging "I can’t quite remember. You, on the other hand, should probably make a schedule or something so you don’t forget things like tours and such in the future."

"Yeah, I’ll be sure do that," said Whenua grumpily as Onepu left. Whenua kicked the Bohrok in anger at his forgetfulness and hurt his foot badly. "Get out of the way!" he cried in pain at the Bohrok as if it could hear him.

To Whenua’s genuine shock, the Bohrok did just that. It started to walk away. Whenua stood where he was with his mouth hanging open in shock. After a few moments, he had the sense to stop the Bohrok before it could escape. "Get back here!" he commanded. The Bohrok obliged and a smile broke across Whenua’s face. His plans for the near future had just been made: he was not going anywhere for a while, not until he discovered more about this Bohrok.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 3

"Out of my way, you old fool!" spat Matoro as he pushed his way past Turaga Nuju. The Turaga of Ice simply fell into a sitting position against the ice wall of the igloo and began to gibber insanely.

"Click whistle click click toot!"

Matoro backhanded Nuju across his grey Noble Matatu. "Speak normally!" he commanded. Nuju just whimpered and backed away while Matoro walked off, rolling his eyes. Matoro barred the wooden door of the igloo to prevent the Turaga from escaping and then set off for his daily hike up Mount Ihu.

"That poor old fool," Matoro muttered to himself as he left Ko-Koro. "I always knew speaking like a Rahi would cause him to go insane sooner or later."

Matoro knew full well that the insanity was not all Nuju’s fault, the head injury he sustained at the start of the war certainly did not help matters. Now the Turaga could only speak the language of the flying Rahi. Matoro knew how to speak it as well, but what Turaga Nuju said these days barely even made sense. For instance, when Matoro had pushed him over, Nuju had cried out "Icicle fast hop tree." It was because of these senseless outbursts that Matoro did not care what he did to Nuju, but it was imperative that the other Ko-Matoran did not find out about Nuju’s problem or else Matoro would lose his rule over the Village of Ice.

Many years ago, when the Turaga still held council together, Matoro acted as Nuju’s translator. At that time, Nuju chose to speak like a bird; now, however, Matoro was certain that he could not stop even if he wanted to. Ever since Matoro had been chosen to be present at the Turaga’s meetings, he had always held himself a bit aloof from the other Matoran. For a while most things heard there were secrets– terrible secrets, but eventually the whole island found out anyway. Sometimes, when Matoro was lying on the cold floor of his igloo beneath his cloak trying to get to sleep, he would think back to the times before he was Nuju’s interpreter, back when he was a kinder and humbler Matoran. Matoro supposed that the Turaga may have influenced him a bit, but he did not care; Ko-Koro was his now.

When he finally reached the top of Mount Ihu, Matoro’s sand blue Great Akaku surveyed the entire island. He could see all six Koro from up here as well as the Kini-Nui temple at the centre of the island. The Akaku turned in the direction of Onu-Koro, who had decided not to join in the war. Ko-Koro had not joined either, but given the opportunity, Matoro would gladly join. Unfortunately, the villagers of Ko-Koro would need a very good reason to enter the fight. The Ko-Matoran always needed a reason for everything; Matoro spent a lot of his time thinking up explanations for the situation with Nuju.

Matoro always used these hikes up Mount Ihu to organize his thoughts and to plan for the future. At the moment, a plan was forming in his mind on how to enter the war. As of now it was a very clever one that would solve two of Matoro’s problems at once. It would need a little work and possibly some outside help, but that would not stop Matoro at all. Lost deep in thought, Matoro did not notice the creature behind him creep closer. In fact, if it had not been for the creature sending twin jets of hot air from its nostrils at him, the small, white Ko-Matoran would never have known that it was there.

Keeping a cool head, Matoro turned around slowly and stared straight into the eyes of a Muaka. While maintaining eye contact, Matoro got up slowly and dusted off the snow on his legs. Since Muaka did not hunt Matoran, Matoro would normally be perfectly safe, but Matoro knew better than that. After living in Ko-Wahi for centuries, he knew the difference between a hungry Rahi and a Rahi who was defending its territory. Luckily for Matoro, the latter was true in this case. The yellow Rahi before him snarled menacingly, but Matoro remained unfazed.

"Whistle click whistle whistle!" Matoro cried. The giant tiger before him looked taken aback. Never had it faced a foe that fought by starting to speak like a bird.

Suddenly, the air was filled with high-pitched squeaking as a flock of ice Bats began to fly towards the pair. When they arrived, they swooped down and began to throw themselves at the Muaka effectively distracting it. Matoro took this opportunity to escape, but before he left, he whistled a word of thanks to the bats. As he hurried back to Ko-Koro, Matoro smiled ruefully to himself.

"I always knew that the Turaga’s stories would come in handy," he said to himself. But then again, it had been the Turaga’s stories that had ended up starting the war in the first place. Matoro never really approved of violence, but if there was ever an opportunity to ensure that he could keep his position of power and possibly become even more powerful, he was willing to take it.

The blue and white Ko-Matoran finally made his way back to the Village of Ice. He nodded in greeting to the guard, Pakastaa, whose black Noble Huna nodded in return. Matoro continued to Nuju’s igloo to check on the deranged being that resided there. Inside, he found Turaga Nuju hopping up and down, clicking and squawking loudly, and pointing to the barred window that was situated so that it was too high to look in from the outside. What the Turaga was saying was about a Gukko bird that had spoken to him. Matoro grabbed Nuju by the shoulders and pulled him close.

"What did the Gukko say?" he demanded.

"Whistle cluck chirp chirp click whistle squawk click!" Nuju responded excitedly.

"Finally you say something that makes sense," Matoro said triumphantly. After a pause, he added slyly, "I guess I’ll just have to block that window then. I can’t have you becoming sane again, now can I?"

Matoro barred the door to Nuju’s igloo once again as he left for his own home. After he arrived, Matoro began to pace while pondering over what Nuju had said.

That is indeed important news, he thought, now I must decide what to do with this knowledge. Matoro continued to pace while thinking over this as well as his plan from before. All throughout the thinking process, one question stood out beyond the others: which side of the war should he join?

1 000 years earlier...

Nokama was livid. She had been planning the trip to the Archives for months. How was she supposed to do the next ten lessons on early Matoran language if her students had not seen any? From what the Matoran with the purple Great Pakari had told her, her tour guide was nowhere to be found. Nokama’s anger must have shown itself on her blue Great Rau because Onewa had stopped talking.

"Erm, is there something wrong with using the Protodermis that Kikanalo dig up?" the Po-Matoran asked.

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about something else" Nokama said quickly.

"Right... now where was I? Oh yes. After we collect the pieces the Kikanalo dig up..."

Instead of the Archives tour, Nokama had to take her class on a tour of the sculpture fields. She had hoped to maybe see some early Matoran inscriptions here, but so far the tour had consisted only of Onewa talking about how he made sculptures.

"Now I’m going to show you what a statue in progress looks like," Onewa said as he led the group to a partially-completed quarter-scale model of the Coliseum that was cocooned in scaffolding. "Here," Onewa continued, "is my construction area. All my projects are in this area including my statue of the Coliseum. Now you will have the chance to view a Po-Metru carver at work."

Onewa climbed up the scaffolding with a chisel in hand and began to shape the structure. While her class watched respectfully, Nokama kicked the ground angrily. All thanks to an Onu-Matoran and a Po-Matoran, weeks of work had been wasted. Nokama kicked the ground again and accidentally sent a small stone flying at Onewa’s statue. The stone hit the statue with a loud clack and fell to the ground. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing had happened, but then the sound of groaning metal filled the air. Everyone’s eyes opened wide in shock as the giant statue began to fall, taking the metal scaffolding with it. Onewa jumped down off the metal structure surrounding his monument and tried to prevent the statue from falling, but to no avail. All he could do was watch in despair as the giant pillar of rock fell to the ground and destroyed every sculpture he was working on.

Nokama’s hands were over her mouth in shock as Onewa fell to the ground in defeat, sorrow etched all over his brown Great Komau. In all the commotion, no one noticed that an airship had been hit by the falling statue, except, of course, the Le-Matoran pilot inside named Matau.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 4

Tap. Tap. Tap. Chip. Scratch. Tap.

Takua was hard at work carving a small timeline which recorded the main events of the past millennium into Ta-Koro’s Wall of History. When he had finished, he blew off the debris from his carving and surveyed his work. As Chronicler for Ta-Koro, it was Takua’s job to record all history in a way that favoured the Ta-Matoran. In years to come, when the war was won and forgotten about, these writings would be seen as truth. The timeline that Takua had just carved, however, was unbiased and simply stated facts. Most of the time, the light blue masked Ta-Matoran never wrote exact dates because he did not know them. The wall read as follows:

Years 0-200: Island explored, Koro built
Years 200-600: Turaga Council established
Years 600-800: Council abolished, uneasy peace formed
Years 800-present: War breaks out

After scratching his Great Pakari thoughtfully for a few moments, Takua added some footnotes concerning the beginning of the war.

"Started... because of... dispute... concerning... Metru Nui," he said as he carved each word into the rock wall. When the section of the wall was complete, Takua sat down for a break and simply stared out of focus at his handiwork. After a few moments of day dreaming, Takua’s eyes came back into focus while looking at the ‘dispute concerning Metru Nui’ part.

Let’s see, he thought to himself. That was when Turaga Nokama broke the treaty and told the Ga-Matoran about our life before the island of Mata Nui. Onewa sided with her, but everyone else sided with Vakama, who didn’t want the stories to be told.

The Ta-Matoran had never actually been told the real story about Metru Nui, just jumbled bits they had heard in passing, but they had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Takua looked over to the far left of the wall where the prehistory had been recorded. The Chronicler remembered writing it very well, it was the only writing on the Wall of History that Turaga Vakama had dictated to him. After hoisting himself up on his Chronicler’s staff, Takua walked over to that section of the wall and read it aloud.

"Long ago, the Matoran all lived on the island city of Metru Nui in peace and prosperity. One day, an evil spirit called the Makuta came and destroyed the island in an attempt to rule the Matoran. A group of Toa (who are now the six Turaga) defeated him and brought the Matoran to an island they named Mata Nui. Their leader, a brave, strong, and wise individual named Vakama was blessed with the ability to receive visions from the Great Spirit. Before he and the others left the island for good, Mata Nui granted him a vision which told him that with the new home for the Matoran came new virtues: unity, duty, and manifest destiny. Mata Nui told Vakama that it was his destiny to rule over all the Matoran and Turaga. Sadly, the other Turaga would not submit to Vakama so he was forced to go to war against all of them– a war that would not end until Mata Nui’s will was fulfilled."

Takua traced a simple map of Mata Nui in the dirt floor with his Chronicler’s staff and marked each Koro. He then circled the allied Koro: one circle around Po-Koro and Ga-Koro and another around Ta-Koro and Le-Koro. The Chronicler thought back to about 200 years ago when Vakama and Matau had made a secret alliance between their two Koro and had launched a sneak attack against Ga-Koro. The entire Village of Water was burned to the ground, causing all the Ga-Matoran to flee. Takua remembered being a scout for the attack and crouching in the bushes trying to obtain as much information as possible. His adeptness at the job had eventually earned him promotion to Chronicler. Every now and then Takua would draw these maps of the island and pretend that it was he who was leading the Ta-Koro army into battle.

A small cough from behind him ended Takua’s game. The blue and red Matoran spun around to see a fellow Ta-Matoran who was completely covered in black soot and bits of charcoal.

"What happened to you?" Takua enquired.

"That’s not important," the figure replied while dusting off some of the soot from his Great Kakama. "What is important is that Turaga Vakama wishes to speak to you immediately. I suggest you go now unless you want your wood collection quota doubled too."

Takua left the grimy Matoran, who began to cough on his soot, and set off for Turaga Vakama’s hut. Not long after, he arrived at the large, grey building and knocked on its wooden door. There was a short pause then Takua noticed some green light shining through one of the cracks in the door, which must be coming from Vakama's eyes, checking to see who he was. Evidently satisfied, Vakama opened the door and wordlessly ushered the Chronicler inside. Once Takua was completely inside, Vakama slammed the door shut behind them.

For a few seconds, the Turaga and Matoran stood face to face in pitch blackness with only the yellow and green lights of their eyes for illumination. Then Vakama lit his Firestaff and light exploded into the room. A few moments of awkward silence followed. Vakama stared emotionlessly at Takua who looked back at him equally as blank. As more time passed, Takua felt obligated to say something, but he was not sure if Vakama was waiting for him or just testing his patience. Finally, Takua could no longer take the silence.

"Y-yes Turaga?" he stammered. Vakama acted as though nothing had happened and began to speak.

"Chronicler, I am sure that you know more of Toa than any other Ta-Matoran on the island."

Takua nodded nervously and Vakama continued.

"Good. Then you must know the function of Toa Stones, correct?"

Behind his light blue Great Pakari, Takua’s eyes opened up in shock. Did this mean what he thought it did?

"As you very well know, scattered around the island are six Toa Stones. I would like you to collect these stones and bring them to Kini-Nui where I will meet you."

"Yes Turaga" said Takua saluting.

"I also have another task for you" said Vakama at a tone just above a whisper. The Turaga of Fire paused for a bit as he stroked the bottom of his orange Noble Huna then he continued. "Follow me," he commanded. Vakama pushed his bed aside and lifted the trap door which led to his secret shrine. He motioned for Takua to follow him as he descended the stair case with his Firestaff in hand. The Turaga walked across the room to the dome in the ground and picked up a fairly large woven sack that jingled with the sound of metal.

"What is that?" asked Takua, pointing to the red dome.

"It’s a Suva– my Suva" replied Vakama. "In this sack are five Kanohi. I want you to secretly switch these with the Noble masks the Turaga wear and then bring them to me along with the Toa Stones."

"All of the Turaga?"

"Yes, Takua."

"Even Matau?"

"All of the Turaga" growled Vakama. "And remember, if you tell anyone, I will not kill you... but I will make you wish I would," he added as Takua shakily ascended the staircase.

1 000 years earlier...

Onewa still could not believe it. Every single item he had in production had been destroyed. The statue of the Coliseum alone had taken months to build, not to mention the fact that its fall had also broken all his tools and his entire work space. Essentially, Onewa would have to start all over again. Probably the only person who could possibly be happy about this was Onewa’s rival Ahkmou, who was always just a step behind him.  No doubt this accident had turned the tables.

The Po-Matoran looked compassionately at Nokama who was busy cleaning up some of the rubble. It was not her fault; that kick had just been an accident, right? Onewa walked over to her and helped her sweep the remains of a statue of Mata Nui into a basin that would be sent to Ta-Metru to be melted down so it could be made usable again. The carver wiped his Great Komau nervously and cleared his throat.

"Uhh... thanks for helping me clean up, Nokama."

"You’re welcome," she said brightly. "And I am really sorry."

"Yes, I think I figured that out the first twenty times," Onewa laughed, in spite of the situation.

"Once again, if there is anything at all I can do to help, Onewa-"

"Cleaning is good enough for now," he said, dropping broken chisel into the basin.

And so the pair cleaned, talked, and laughed into the night and forged a bond of friendship so strong that it would stand the test of time for centuries and even create a war.

 

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Edited March 13, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 5

A beam of yellow light shot through a wet hole in the cave wall. After a few minutes of grunts and the clash of metal against stone, the wall collapsed and Takua tumbled out of it. He sat up and pulled his sack of Kanohi out of a pile of mud.

Mud? Underground?

Takua looked around and saw that he was lying on the bank of an underground river– that meant that he had safely made it to Onu-Koro.

So I guess the tunnels in the Mangai volcano really do lead to Onu-Koro, thought Takua as he cleaned off the cloth sack in the river. Who’d have thought that crazy lava surfing Maglya was right?

Being Ta-Koro’s most enthusiastic lava surfer, Maglya often ended up being the butt of many jokes. Everyone else was perfectly happy training, working in the forges, and collecting wood, but Maglya liked to spend the little spare time he had surfing on lava. He handcrafted lavaboards from left over wood from the Charred Forest and then surfed on the lava in the Mangai volcano with them whenever he got the chance. The constant practice of balance in order to prevent death made Maglya an excellent warrior, not to mention the fact that he knew his way around the volcano like the three virtues.

When the Chronicler had gotten his bearings, he quickly dashed into hiding behind one of the Onu-Koro huts. The huts themselves were smooth domes and seemed to be made entirely out of clay.

A good flood would probably wipe this place off the island, Takua laughed to himself as he ran some clay through his fingers. Even so, he could not help noticing that these huts seemed nicer than the ones in Ta-Koro. These ones were smooth and comforting, whereas the Ta-Koro bunkers were hard and cold despite the village’s proximity to the Mangai volcano. There was almost a palpable sense of peace in the air that simply did not exist in Ta-Koro.

Takua came back to his senses with an uncomfortable jolt. A yawning Onu-Matoran was approaching the hut that he had just been admiring. Stealthily, Takua shuffled his way around to the back of the hut so the Matoran could not see him. A soft thud announced the hut’s owner had just closed the door and the soft snoring which followed meant that he was asleep.

Night already? Surely I haven’t been down here that long. Then Takua realized that years of living underground, isolated from the rest of the island, had no doubt thrown the Onu-Matoran out of sync with time on the surface. The Chronicler rubbed his hands together gleefully: this was his big chance.

Takua made his way over to the largest hut in the village, which was situated at the southern end, and peeked in the window. Sure enough, inside was the Turaga of Earth, Whenua, who was snoring quite loudly. The light of a Lightstone outside reflected brightly off of the Turaga’s Ruru as if it was inviting Takua to steal it. Takua took a deep breath and grabbed his Chronicler’s staff with one hand and hooked the false Noble Ruru over the smaller of the two blades of his staff with the other. Then he extended a red arm in through the window and using the larger blade of his staff, he neatly pulled off the Turaga’s mask with a small tug. The Kanohi fell to the floor with a loud clatter, not that that really mattered since without his mask, Whenua was essentially comatose. With every muscle in his arm tensed, Takua carefully placed the decoy mask onto the Turaga’s face. A small click notified Takua that he was successful, so he unhooked the mask from his staff as carefully as possible and fished the real Noble Ruru off of the floor and out the window.

With Whenua’s Noble Mask of Night Vision jingling happily in Takua’s sack, it seemed as though the Chronicler had made a clean getaway. Unfortunately for Takua, there is often an unfair gap between how things seem and how things are.

"What do you have in the bag?" asked a voice from behind the Ta-Matoran. Due to the lower number of Lightstones in Onu-Koro at the moment in an effort to simulate night, it was hard to make out what the figure looked like, but Takua took solace in the fact that if he could not see the stranger, then the reverse was probably true as well.

"Uh... Lightstones," Takua lied while trying to imitate the gruff voice of the speaker.

"Hang on a second! Turaga Whenua says that Lightstones may not be privately owned and that they must be shared with all. Why don’t you hand me the bag, and we’ll keep this between you and me."

"Okay..." Takua replied slyly. Then with a swift motion, he jabbed the Onu-Matoran in the chest with the butt of his Chronicler’s staff and then ran off. "Personally, I’d rather just keep this for myself" he cried over his shoulder.

"Lightstone thief!" the Onu-Matoran yelled in order to alert his fellow villagers.

Takua’s big, yellow feet ran as fast as they could. Being from Ta-Koro, Takua had not planned for there being walls blocking every possible escape. He soon realized that he had no other choice. Swallowing his pride as a Ta-Matoran and securing his staff and sack to his back, Takua took a deep breath and jumped into the underground river. Kicking his feet as fast as he could, the Chronicler soon made it out of the main Onu-Koro cave, but this had only increased his worries.

The river led to a smaller cave which ended in a dead end. No doubt the Onu-Matoran would either catch him or he would die of starvation. Takua started trying to dig a hole in the wall, but it proved difficult while he was floating in the water with nothing to hold on to. His digging had stirred up some dust in the water which slowly drifted towards the back of the cave. The swimming Ta-Matoran kicked his way in the direction of the dust and noticed an oddly shaped, slightly eroded stone with a Pakari carved into it.

The Toa Stone!

With a little jiggling, Takua was able to pry the stone free. He was forced to quickly put it in his sack, however, for a current had started to pick up now that there was a large hole for the water to pass through. Slowly but surely, the water broke down the wall and made a space large enough for Takua to enter. The Chronicler let the current carry him into a long tunnel whose ceiling came uncomfortably close the further he went through it. A few bio away, Takua saw that he was soon going to be completely trapped underwater. With no bank to climb out onto, the Ta-Matoran only had one option: take a deep breath. Takua did so just as the water sucked him under. For a few terrifying seconds, Takua was certain that he would drown. Suddenly he broke the surface of the water gasping for air.

Bobbing up and down, Takua looked around and saw that he had made it out to sea. Not normally having much contact with water, Ta-Matoran were not known for their swimming abilities so it was all that Takua could do to keep from sinking. In the distance, he could hear some faint yelling. Takua looked towards the horizon and squinted trying to see what was making the noise. Presently, a black speck came into view. It was so indistinct, however, that Takua had to continue squinting. As the speck began to grow as it got closer, he suddenly realized what it was– unfortunately, the realization came with a gasp that resulted in the consummation of a mouthful of sea water. As the floating Ta-Matoran spluttered and flailed trying to get away, he was quite glad that no Ta-Matoran were able to see him at the moment or he would assuredly become as popular as Maglya.

Takua’s fear became reality as the black speck cried, "I can see something in the water!"

Due to the waterlogged cloth sack, mouthful of water, and overall fatigue, there was not much that Takua could do to escape. So he simply floated where he was with a million worries flying through his mind. The speck transformed into a boat from which a figure handed Takua a short, silver pole and pulled him onto the boat.

"Look at the ‘fish’ I just caught, Macku," laughed the Ga-Matoran who had just pulled him aboard.

1 000 years earlier...

Humming nonchalantly, Matau piloted the Airship 2.0 over Po-Metru on his way back to the Le-Metru moto-hub. This prototype for a newer version of more aerodynamic and faster airships worked like a dream. The techie Matoran back at the workshop must have worked really hard on this one. Being an expert driver, it was Matau’s job to make sure that when they did not work hard on a vehicle, that it did not hit anything and explode. In all his years of work, the Great Mahiki wearing Le-Matoran had never had an explosion.

Steering the ship over the sculpture fields, the pilot smiled to himself for he knew that tomorrow he would get to test out a new invention: the moto-sled. It was invented by some Onu-Matoran; as if they knew anything about engineering! The part that had Matau the most excited about the vehicle was the fact that it had the highest acceleration of any vehicle Matau had ever tested before. In a job as exhilarating as vehicle testing, one always looked forward to just that little extra exhilaration wherever possible.

Within a few seconds, Matau was almost out of Po-Metru. This vehicle was flawless and Matau knew that before he even got in. Once he got this back to the moto-hub, the Le-Matoran could work on mass-producing it and make a complete revolution for air travel in the city.

Without warning, the ship gave a huge jolt and catapulted Matau out of his pilot seat. The Le-Matoran scrambled back up and gripped the steering wheel, but he seemed unable to either steer or land. He leaped up from his seat and checked the back of the airship– the direction of the collision. Matau let out an audible gasp as he saw the gaping hole in the back of the ship. The higher pressure air inside the ship was being sucked out to the lower pressure air outside which made a loud whistling sound. The green Matoran examined the hole for a few seconds and then figured out why the steering was no longer responding. Whatever had made the hole in the back of the ship had taken out the Kanoka disks of Levitation and Increase Weight which were used to power the ship; without them, Matau might as well be piloting a rock over a cliff.

Through the hole, Matau could see a large cloud of dust in the sculpture fields that seemed to have been created by a heavy object falling over. Resigning to the fact that he could not repair the ship, the Le-Matoran went back to the pilot seat and hoped that the momentum the ship had gained from its collision would soon run out. Up ahead was an object that made Matau pull the steering as hard as he could, regardless of the fact that he knew it was useless. Try as he might, the airship did not change its course, it was doomed for collision with the object in front of it. With a sickening crunch, Matau’s vehicle plowed straight into the telescope room of a Knowledge Tower at the border of Ko-Metru and Po-Metru.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 6

Takua wrung his hands together as he paced the inside of the brig of the Ga-Koro flagship. Technically, ‘Ga-Koro’ did not exist any more because after the Ta-Matoran had burnt the former Village of Water to the ground, the Ga-Matoran had decided to build a massive armada of boats that would double as their homes and serve as the only navy on the island. With the boats and Kolhii Battle Training together, the Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran were a tough combination to beat.

The Chronicler kicked the wall of his cell in a futile attempt to escape. It was unfortunate that the Ga-Matoran had stopped using giant lily pads as building material and had moved onto flax ropes, seaweed, wood, and steel. Takua leaned against the wooden wall and slid to the floor. The Ga-Matoran had taken both his sack and his staff; as of now, the mission had failed.

Through the bars in his cell, Takua saw that the door to the brig had been opened. A Ga-Matoran wearing a transparent blue Great Kaukau walked in and greeted the guard.

"Hey Kotu," said the newcomer. "I’m supposed to take over now."

Kotu nodded her Noble Rau. "See you later, Hahli."

Kotu exited the brig and Hahli walked up to Takua’s cell. Instantly, his eyes shot to the item the Ga-Matoran had tied around her neck as a necklace: a small stone with a Great Kaukau carved into it.

Maybe my mission isn’t as doomed as I thought, Takua smiled to himself.

Takua cleared his throat. "That’s a... uh... nice necklace you’ve got there."

Behind the transparent visor of her mask, Takua could see Hahli’s eyes convey an expression of surprise, as if she had been expecting Takua to yell something along the lines of, "you’ll never get away with this!" She simply stared at him, blinking for a few seconds and then said,

"Thanks... I found it while I was exploring the burnt ruins of Ga-Koro for artefacts– I’m the Chronicler for the village."

"No way! I’m a Chronicler too," Takua laughed a little more loudly than he would have normally done under other circumstances. "Do you think you could get me my stuff, you know, as a fellow Chronicler?"

"Of course," she said in an equally overly joyful voice. "You will get them with your next meal."

"Erm... when’s my next meal?" asked Takua apprehensively.

"Ga-Matoran prisoners don’t get meals," she replied coldly.

The door to the brig opened again and another Ga-Matoran entered. This one had been on the boat that captured Takua. Her name seemed to be Macku or something like that, and from what Takua could tell, the Noble Huna wearing Matoran was quite high up in the Ga-Matoran ranks; easily as influential here as Jaller was back in Ta-Koro– maybe even more so.

"Hahli, help me bring the prisoner to Turaga Nokama’s quarters– she wants to interrogate him." Each Matoran took a hold of one of Takua’s arms and marched him out of the brig. Rather than struggle, Takua decided to let them take him to Nokama– it would save him the trouble of having to break in later to steal her mask.

On the deck of the flag ship, Takua saw a few Ga-Matoran tending to the rigging while the rest of the crew seemed to be actually working on the ship itself. They were working on attaching six pair of bamboo hoops to the side of the boat, each of which was a bit wider in circumference than the width of a Matoran. Takua had absolutely no idea what they were doing, but the cold, efficiency of the Ga-Matoran workers told him that he should probably be wary just the same. Surrounding the flagship was well over fifty boats of various shapes and sizes. They all had tall masts made from pine trees (which had probably come from the shores of the Hura-Mafa river) with sails made from strands of seaweed sewn together with flax.

As the trio neared Nokama’s hut, Takua began to wriggle the arm that Hahli was holding, which made her grip it closer to her body.

Perfect, Takua thought as he surreptitiously reached up and grabbed the Ga-Koro Toa Stone firmly.

Macku opened the door and on the count of three, she and Hahli threw Takua in to Turaga Nokama’s quarters. Hahli was so focused on her task that she never noticed her flax necklace snapping and Takua stashing the Toa Stone under his torso as he fell on his face.

"Greetings... murderer," said a serious voice from across the room. Takua looked up and saw Turaga Nokama looking out a window at the back of the room. She turned and Takua saw she had arms crossed and was staring at him with glowing, yellow eyes that blazed down at him in both anger and disgust.

"I may be many things, but I’m no murderer," said Takua defensively.

"Oh really? Then how do you explain this?" she asked as she kicked Takua’s sack of Kanohi over to him. He took the opportunity to slip the Ga-Koro Toa Stone inside as he looked to see if everything was still there.

"But these are just Kanohi."

"And where did you get them?" she asked patronizingly. Takua did not answer.

I can’t very well tell her I’m on a mission to collect all of the island’s Noble Kanohi. Come to think of it, where did Vakama get them? Takua decided that he would rather not know– the thought made him sick.

"You do know that Matoran don’t live very long after they are parted with their masks, don’t you?" Nokama continued. "So if you didn’t kill the former owners of these masks, then where did you get them?"

Before Takua had a chance to answer, the door to the chamber burst open.

"Turaga!" cried the Ga-Matoran called Hahli "I’ve lost the-"

"I’m in the middle of an interrogation. Wait until I am done."

"But-"

"OUT!" roared Nokama. She slammed the door loudly and Takua smiled to himself.

One down, one to go.

The Turaga of Water turned back to Takua and looked at him absentmindedly as if trying to remember what she had been talking about. The Ta-Matoran took advantage of this temporary distraction and bashed Nokama’s mask with his sack of Kanohi and Toa Stones. Her Rau flew off and changed colour from light blue to silver. As the Noble Mask of Translation hit the floor and spun away, its owner fell over unconscious. Takua retrieved the mask and stuffed it into the sack after taking out its replacement. After locating his Chronicler’s staff and attaching it firmly to the sack of Kanohi and Toa Stones, Takua placed the powerless Rau over Nokama’s face and quickly scrambled out the window before she became fully conscious. Takua flattened himself against the side of the ship and waited.

"The prisoner has escaped!" cried Nokama from the other side of the window. After Takua could hear more Ga-Matoran entering the room, he kicked a nearby boulder into the water so they would think he had tried to swim away. As it hit the water with a loud sploosh, he realized how odd it was for a boulder to be on a ship. On closer inspection, he could see that the boulder had fallen out of a large container of boulders marked "Kolhii balls".

Wait, aren’t those only used by Po-Matoran? Why are there so many on this ship?

From inside Nokama’s chamber, Takua could hear the Turaga of Water talking.

"No more windows! From now on all Ga-Matoran ships shall have their windows boarded up and replaced with Lightfish. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma’am," came the response of around four Ga-Matoran in unison.

"Now tell Kai to lead three ships in search of the Ta-Matoran, tell Marka to take all the cargo ships to Po-Koro to pick up the Po-Matoran warriors and Kolhii balls, and lastly tell Pelagia to take the rest of the armada to Naho Bay where we will stay until Nixie is able to confirm the Red Star’s trajectory."

The door to Nokama’s chamber opened and shut as the Matoran she was talking to left. Takua slid carefully along the side of the flagship until he saw what he was looking for. Ten bio or so away, was a small boat marked "cargo". He slipped slowly into the water and swam towards the boat. It was a little harder this time now that he had another Toa Stone in his bag, but he made it to the cargo ship without being noticed soon enough, and when the pilot’s back was turned, he climbed in.

The boat consisted mostly of a large, rectangular storage container, about four times the size of a Matoran, with a mast right in the middle of it. At the back, there was a Ga-Matoran with a blue Great Miru who had control over both the boom and the rudder. Takua hid beneath the seaweed sheet that covered the cargo area and waited for the Ga-Matoran to leave.

Next stop, Po-Koro.

1 000 years earlier...

 

The telescopic lens on Nuju’s white Great Matatu zoomed in for a better look. From here on the observation deck of the most northerly Knowledge Tower, Nuju the seer saw a new constellation in the sky. Normally, only one or two stars would move as Mata Nui revealed his many secrets to the world he protected, but in all his years of stargazing, never had Nuju seen a complete constellation appear out of nowhere.

The Ko-Matoran went to look at the constellation through his telescope for a better look. The lens on the side of his mask was a useful tool at night, but during the day, it was next to useless compared to his telescope. The constellation was in the shape of a horizontal zigzag that would no doubt take weeks, if not months, to decipher and interpret. Nuju turned away from his telescope and rummaged through his collection of ancient prophecy tablets.

Suddenly a high-pitched whirring sound filled the air and got louder in with a foreboding crescendo. Nuju turned around tentatively and barely had enough time to run out of the room screaming as a giant airship collided into his observation room and broke off the top of the tower, sending it tumbling down onto a nearby Keerakh hive, destroying it in a huge, fiery explosion. As Nuju stood panting one floor down from the crash, he wondered if the new constellation had been a warning of this or if it had a much greater and darker significance.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 7

From his hiding place behind the hut of the gatekeeper of the Po-Wahi wall, Takua could see thousands of Kolhii balls being loaded onto the Ga-Matoran ships by a team of Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran. He had escaped from his cargo ship when the pilot’s back was turned and had been hiding here for what seemed like ages. Not only did the Po-Matoran seem to have an infinite supply of Kolhii balls, but the Ga-Matoran seemed to have an infinite amount of storage space as well.

The heat from the sun over Po-Wahi beat down on Takua’s metal body even hotter than the heat of the Mangai volcano. At least in Ta-Wahi, there was a little moisture in the air, but the desert region of Stone seemed to have none what so ever. Even though he was only about five bio away from the sea, it did not seem to matter at all– the giant wall the Po-Matoran had built blocked the sea spray and effectively all moisture from entering, making the arid terrain even dryer. Finally, as the sun began to set, the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran workers headed back to Po-Koro to rest for the night. The gatekeeper closed and locked the only gate out of Po-Wahi wall and went to sleep in his domed sandstone hut.

The Chronicler followed the worn path from the gate to the entrance of Po-Koro. The village had been built in a large canyon to protect it from most of the sun’s heat as well as the sandstorms that occasionally plagued the rest of the Wahi. The path toward the entrance was flanked with giant carvings of heads; vainly, Turaga Onewa had ordered his carvers to make them of himself and Nokama. As Takua walked down the path of alternating Rau and Komau, he could not help feeling disturbed by the heads staring blankly at him as he went. Before he could even consider how to break into the Koro unnoticed, his eyes were splashed by a stinging liquid that blinded him instantly. Takua was then thrown to the ground and his hands were tied together behind his back, after which his arms and legs were grabbed and he was carried away.

Rather than staying still like when he was on the Ga-Koro ship, Takua struggled like a Kuna bog snake in the mouth of a Nui-Jaga. Not much later, Takua was released by his captors and his hands were untied, but his eyesight did not return.

"Who are you?" demanded Takua, trying to sound as threatening as possible. The slight echo that his voice made told him that he was in an enclosed area of some sort.

"That depends" replied a crafty voice. "Are you going to tell us what a Ta-Matoran does outside Po-Koro with a sack full of masks and carvings? If you do, we’ll tell you who we are. Lie to us, and we’ll increase your dosage of Nui-Jaga toxin, which happens to be lethal in larger quantities."

Takua decided to compromise with the speaker since he was pretty sure a swing of his sack would not get him out of this mess.

"I’m on a quest to bring Toa to the island" he said.

After a slight pause, the speaker stuttered in amazement, "T-Toa?"

"Yes, but I need the six Toa Stones to do it– I’ve already got two in that bag." There was a slight jingle of metal against rock as someone went through the sack.

"But then what are the Kanohi for?" asked a deeper, gravely voice.

"I’m replacing them with the Turaga’s Noble masks so... uh..." Takua was not sure whether it would be a good idea to tell them that part of the plan since not even Ta-Koro’s only ally, Le-Koro, seemed to know.

"So that they will become powerless, right?" asked the first voice excitedly.

"Yes... precisely" lied Takua, relieved at not having to make up an explanation.

"Well then, it seems that we have met a kindred spirit" said the first voice gladly. "Bour, give the Ta-Matoran some antidote."

Takua felt a warm liquid splash his eyes and his eyesight gradually faded back in. Before him were three Po-Matoran, sitting around a fire at the back of a shallow cave: one with a black Noble Rau, one with an orange Noble Akaku, and one with a brown Noble Mahiki. After a little introduction, Takua found out that Rau wearing Po-Matoran, the one who first spoke to him, was called Ahkmou and was the leader of the group; the Matoran who had asked about the Kanohi was the one with the Mahiki and was called Kamen; and Bour, the one who had given him the antidote, was the one with the Akaku.

"We are a small group of Po-Matoran rebels who seek to end the war" explained Ahkmou. "We know of a few Matoran in each of the other Koro with our ideals, but we have very little contact with them."

"Oh really?" said Takua while secretly wondering who in Ta-Koro could be affiliated with this group of eccentrics.

"So you need Toa Stones to summon the Toa?" asked Bour. Takua nodded. "Well, I think I know where one is. A while back Hewkii, the inventor of Kolhii, discovered an oddly carved rock when quarrying, but it was too high up for anyone to reach."

"Why don’t we go see if we can get it?" suggested Takua. The rebels agreed and kicked sand onto the fire. They led Takua to the quarry, which happened to not be too far from their cave. At the top of a sheer cliff, easily a kio tall, Takua could just barely make out a small rock about the same size as the other two Toa Stones. The rock wall below it was really bumpy, Takua enquired about this to Ahkmou.

"When quarry workers have a little spare time, they try to kick Kolhii balls at it to knock it down, but so far, no one’s been able to get one high enough or with enough force to move it at all" the Po-Matoran explained.

"Well, there’s no harm in trying." said Takua.

Beneath the clear, starry sky, the four Matoran spent most of the night trying to knock the Toa Stone down with Kolhii balls. Takua was fairly good at it for his first time, but the Po-Matoran were much more adept at kicking Kolhii balls than he was. On one attempt, the Chronicler got a defective ball and when he kicked it, it exploded into thousands of tiny shards. The whole group burst out laughing as Takua picked some of them out of the cheek holes in his mask.

Never in a million years did I think I’d be laughing with Po-Matoran, thought Takua as he dusted himself off.

As dawn broke, they had still not made any headway and Takua was starting to get frustrated. Angrily, he launched one of the Kolhii balls with his Chronicler’s and was astounded to see it get twice the height of the Po-Matoran’s shots and actually sail right over the Toa Stone. Bour, Kamen, and Ahkmou stared at Takua in shock and encouraged him to try again. Takua did so with a little less force this time and hit the rock wall just below the Toa Stone. His target crumbled upon impact and the Toa Stone came hurtling to the ground. Everyone present knew that it would be impossible to catch the stone without suffering a fatal injury so all they could do was watch in disappointment as it drew closer and closer to the ground.

Suddenly, a loud screech filled the desert air as a giant Gukko bird flew under the stone and caught it on its back. Before Takua could even thank the Great Beings for this good fortune, the Gukko flew towards him and snatched him with its talons.

1 000 years earlier...

A lone Nuurakh walked through the deserted night streets of Ta-Metru in bipedal mode. Under its robotic right arm, it carried instructions for a foundry worker called Brander. Recently, there had been a lot of disorder and destruction around the city and thus a lot of metallic parts needed to be forged immediately by the Metru’s best forger. The Vahki brought the instructions up to its visual receptors and read them.

• Archivist Measurement Tools
• Matoran Level Noble Rau
• Complete Set of Carver’s Tools
• New Airship Parts
• New Telescope
• New Vahki Parts

The Nuurakh noticed that none of these requests came from Ta-Metru. The logic centre at the back of its head reasoned that it was due to superior order enforcing in this section of the city. Swollen with as much pride as his limited artificial intelligence would allow, the Vahki failed to notice the four legged insectoid and its ape-like companion lurking in the shadows.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 8

It had now been two days since Takua had left on his mission, and Turaga Vakama was heading to his chamber for the night. He opened the blackened, wooden door and lit his Firestaff for his nightly paranoid search. When he found neither trip wires nor murderers at the door, he crossed the room and went towards his bed, shaking his head and smiling benevolently as he went, as though he was watching a Ta-Matoran hold his bident upside-down during a salute. There was a small creak in the rafters above and Vakama spun around as fast as lightning and sent a blast of as much elemental Fire as he could muster through his staff up towards the source of the noise. The rafters, being made of hardened wood from the Charred Forest, suffered no damage from the attack, but the cloaked Ko-Matoran hiding in them clearly did, for he fell from the ceiling with a loud yelp. Vakama pounced on the intruder like a hungry Muaka and placed his Firestaff at the base of the Matoran’s sand blue Great Akaku.

"Wait!" cried the Matoran. "I have come to make an alliance." Vakama said nothing, but only pressed his staff closer to the Ko-Matoran’s throat. Panting nervously, the Matoran fumbled through his cloak and pulled out a small stone the size of his hand with a Great Akaku carved into it. The Turaga of Ta-Koro seized the stone and allowed the Matoran to get up. "My name is Matoro, don’t you remember me from the Turaga Council?" he asked nervously while dusting himself off. Once again, Vakama said nothing; he only nodded for the Matoran before him to speak.

Matoro explained that because of Turaga Nuju’s insanity, he had unofficially become the leader of Ko-Koro. When a Gukko bird had told Nuju that it had overheard Vakama and Matau’s plan to summon the Toa, Matoro had decided to make an alliance with Ta-Koro and offer the Toa Stone of Ice as a gesture of good faith. In return, Matoro wanted Vakama to help him truly become the ruler of Ko-Koro by having Nuju killed so that Matoro could take his place and get the Ko-Matoran to then join Vakama’s side in the war.

All through out Matoro’s tale, Vakama had not said a word. When he finished, Vakama took the Ko-Matoran’s hand firmly and shook it with a look of triumph on his face. "Very well, I accept your alliance. I will send a message to a Ta-Matoran I have in the area to assist you."

Matoro gave Vakama a confused look. "That’s it?! You aren’t going to test me or even ask Turaga Matau if he approves first?"

"You remind me of myself when I was a Toa," said Vakama with a mild tone of nostalgia. "Worrying about the future and the consequences of our actions, but I learned a new way of thinking. I now do things on impulse and according to what my instincts tell me. Because of that philosophy, I have become great. An entire Koro has fallen to my might and I have created a war that I cannot lose. Even if you do plan to betray me, you will be too late for I will have an unstoppable army of Toa by my side. When one is powerful, little Matoran, they need not worry about the future."

Matoro had no response to this. It went completely against the entire mindset of the Ko-Matoran, to whom the future meant everything. He stood there motionless for quite some time and later felt stupid for doing so.

"I’ll uh... go back to Ko-Koro and prepare, then."

Vakama nodded blankly and Matoro snuck out of the Turaga’s chamber, avoiding the guards, who did not yet know of the secret alliance, and then back to his frozen, mountain home. The Turaga of Fire followed him out and headed towards the Gukko pen on the other side of the village where four Gukko birds from the Le-Koro had been tied up in case the Ta-Matoran needed to send messages or if there were emergencies. Near the pen, there was a stack of stone tablets that messages were written on; Vakama took one and inscribed some quick instructions on it with a piece of charcoal and handed the tablet to Ta-Koro’s Gukko tamer, Boreas.

"It needs to go to Le-Koro and be given to Takua," Vakama explained.

"What’s Takua doing in-" the Le-Matoran began, but Vakama cut him off.

"Do it now or I shall tell Matau that we need to replace the Gukko tamer that ‘accidentally’ fell in the volcano."

Shaking slightly with fear, Boreas gave the tablet to the giant bird and instructed it, through a series of hand gestures, to go to Le-Koro. The Gukko flew off and Vakama went back to his chamber in high spirits. The alliance with the Ko-Matoran was an unexpected stroke of good fortune; it certainly would make it significantly easier to conquer them later.
 

1 000 years earlier...

The Nuurakh deposited the instructions for Brander on the Ta-Matoran’s desk and set off for the Ta-Metru Vahki hive. Suddenly, its audio receptors picked up a slithering sound nearby. The Vahki turned around and saw one of the thick, black vines of the Morbuzakh plant snaking towards the foundry it had just exited. The Morbuzakh had been attacking the city for quite some time now and the destruction they caused prevented several Matoran from working. The vine began thrashing and started to break off pieces of the foundry.

The tactical centre of the Ta-Metru Vahki’s brain fired up and it leaped into action. As was standard protocol, it sent a blast from its stun staffs at the plant, but that had no effect whatsoever. Switching into quadrupedal mode, the robotic law enforcer climbed up the building to get closer. By now, half of Brander’s foundry had been destroyed and the plant showed no signs of stopping.

The Vahki fired a level three Kanoka of freezing out of its mouth at the vine which would stop it long enough for backup to arrive. Unfortunately, another vine had erupted out of the ground in an explosion of broken pavement and proceeded to pick up where the other vine had left off. When the Nuurakh turned to stop it, the second vine grabbed a glowing orange piece of the actual forge itself and threw the forge at its partner. The heat-thriving plant instantly defrosted and joined the other vine in the destruction of the foundry and several nearby buildings. The gears in the tactical centre of the Vahki’s brain whirred audibly as it assessed the situation and devised a solution. It only had two Kanoka left: a growth disk and a weaken disk, each level five. First the growth disk was fired at the first plant and then it was hit by the weaken disk. The vine grew several times its size by the effects of the first disk, but when it was hit by the second, it was weakened so that it could not support its new size and snapped in two and then fell to the ground, destroying both the other vine and the Nuurakh.

The next morning, Brander came to his foundry in a state of shock. It was completely destroyed and there was a giant heap of dead Morbuzakh vines lying in the street that a few Kinloka had started to graze upon. The Ta-Matoran sifted through the rubble to see if anything had survived, but he only found a long list of task that needed to be completed immediately. With his forge gone, as well as those nearby, he knew there was only one other place he could go to get the work done in time: the workshop of Vakama the mask maker.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 9

The Gukko landed on a high plateau and released Takua from its talons as the low, early morning sun lit the cloudless sky of Po-Koro a vivid shade of pink coral. The giant flying Rahi lowered its dark head to allow Takua to take a message tablet out of the brown, cloth pouch around its neck. Takua extracted the grey stone and began to read.

I have sent this Gukko to take you to Le-Koro. You will first collect the both items of the Wahi you are currently in and then proceed there immediately. When you arrive, continue your mission unless otherwise instructed by me.

-Vakama, Turaga of Ta-Koro

Knowing he would not need the tablet any more, Takua smashed it on the ground and went up to the Gukko. All Ta-Matoran knew the core basics of Gukko communication since Vakama had insisted they learn it as soon as he had forged the alliance with Le-Koro. Takua patted the Gukko’s beak twice and the bird turned its back to him to allow him to mount it. Holding the Gukko’s neck firmly, Takua gave it two light kicks to signal that he wanted to take off. The Rahi flapped its massive wings three times to pick up speed and then took off.

Takua had never enjoyed flying and signalled to the Gukko to land as soon as he could with three pats on the back of its neck. It landed and the Chronicler shakily dismounted while still clutching the sack and his staff firmly in his hands. He looked around and saw that the canyon which held Po-Koro was only 500 bio away so after making sure the Gukko would stay where it was, Takua hurried over to the Village of Stone.

When he arrived, the door guards were in the process of switching between the day shift and the night shift, which gave Takua the ideal opportunity to sneak into the village. The huts of the Po-Matoran were all similar in shape to the ones of Onu-Koro, but they were a little rounder and carved out of sandstone rather than clay. To his left, there was a larger habitation, which seemed to be composed of several smaller huts compounded together. Takua instantly knew that it belonged to Turaga Onewa due to the engraving of a Noble Komau over the building’s entrance.

The Ta-Matoran made his way over to the window at the back of the hut to listen to any activity inside. As it transpired, Takua was not a moment too soon in doing this for a Po-Matoran wearing an orange Great Kakama had just gone up to the door and knocked on it with one of his strong, tan coloured arms. Takua heard the door open and a voice that clearly belonged to Turaga Onewa welcomed the visitor.

"Good morning Hewkii. Tell me, how is the Kolhii ball loading proceeding?"

"By the end of today, we shall be done, Turaga" Hewkii replied. Takua took the opportunity to climb in the window while the Matoran and Turaga spoke. It was a tighter fit than the windows of other Koro, but he managed well enough. He fell to the sandy floor with a soft thud and quickly hid behind the nearby life-sized statue of Onewa.

"Any news from the Ga-Matoran about the Red Star?" the Turaga of Stone asked.

"Only that they will come to us when it is time, no sooner, no later."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, Turaga."

Hewkii left and Onewa returned inside. The instant Onewa shut the door behind him, Takua jumped out of his hiding place wielding his Chronicler’s staff and charged toward the Turaga of Stone. Caught by surprise, Turaga Onewa was unable to defend himself with his Stone Hammer and simply fell to the ground under the force of the Ta-Matoran’s attack. Takua swiftly removed the Turaga’s Noble Kanohi and replaced it with its powerless counterpart from his sack. As the Chronicler prepared to exit out the window through which he had entered, the door opened and Hewkii walked in.

"Turaga, I-" the Po-Matoran’s eyes shot from the horizontal form of Turaga Onewa slowly gaining consciousness to the Ta-Matoran with a large sack on his back trying to climb out the window. "Stop, you!" Hewkii cried.

Takua suddenly felt a strong hand grab his leg and throw him to the ground. Using his training as a Ta-Matoran, Takua did a backwards somersault out of the way as Hewkii attempted to bludgeon him with the fallen Turaga’s Stone Hammer. He leaped up and drew his Chronicler’s staff to face his assailant. There were a few moments of tension between the two combatants as each sized up the other and then they simultaneously ran at each other, both yelling battle cries. Metal clashed on metal as each Matoran sought to de-mask the other with their weapons. Takua tried to block an attack from Hewkii with his staff and the two began struggling to push the other’s weapon out of the way. Without warning, Hewkii released tension on his hammer, which sent Takua completely off balance. The Po-Matoran swung the hammer around and clubbed Takua in the side of the head, sending him sliding across the floor. Knowing that it would only be a matter of time until the villagers outside heard the noise of the battle, the Chronicler waited for Hewkii to come and finish him off, then he lodged the butt of his staff into a gap in the armour of Hewkii’s foot and pulled sharply. Hewkii came crashing to the ground and Takua got up and ran out of the Turaga’s hut.

While running perhaps even faster than he had back in Onu-Koro, Takua tried as hard as he could to whistle to signal to the Gukko to come and get him. Whistling while breathing heavily proved to be quite difficult so Takua was forced to stop just outside Po-Koro’s gates so he could catch his breath. Most of the other Po-Matoran had figured out by now that a Ta-Matoran fugitive was in their midst so they all came out of their huts with a sizable collection of Kolhii balls to prevent his escape. Finally, Takua succeeded in whistling as Turaga Onewa and Hewkii joined the crowd, which had started to encircle him.

The Gukko responded to Takua’s cry for help and swooped down into the canyon, screeching loudly, which caused all the villagers to look up in shock. As Takua patted the Rahi’s beak and climbed on, Turaga Onewa signalled his warriors to wait as he stepped forward.

"Foolish Ta-Matoran," he scoffed. "You forget that I have the Noble Mask of Mind Control. I shall now instruct your Rahi to fly off and drop you from the sky." Onewa paused for a bit and then looked directly at the Gukko, but nothing happened. He strained his head out toward the bird and stiffened every single muscle in his body, but Takua’s Gukko showed no signs of wanting to kill him at all. "You! You did this to me!" Onewa yelled, shaking his fist in anger. With two kicks from Takua, the Rahi took off for Le-Koro leaving an angry mob of Po-Matoran behind.

"Have fun being conquered by Ta-Koro next week!" said Takua mockingly as his Gukko flew south for the Village of Air.

1 000 years earlier...

"Vakama, I need your help!" cried Brander as he burst his way into Vakama’s mask making workshop.

"Calm down," said the red Great Huna wearing mask maker. Brander did so while wiping some soot off his red Great Kakama. The foundry operator then began to explain how he had found his workplace in ruins and all that was left was a list of tasks that Turaga Dume needed to have completed immediately.

"Well," said Vakama "My workshop’s forge is quite a bit smaller than yours, but I think it will work just fine. All I have to do is make a special mask for Turaga Dume right now and I’m not having any luck at all. I’d be glad to help you out if you need it."

"Thank you so much," said Brander gleefully as he showed Vakama his list. "You can start on the Rau and I’ll get to work on some of the carver’s tools."

Since Matoran level masks required so little skill to make, occasionally foundry operators were asked to make them while true mask makers were given more challenging tasks. As Vakama selected one of his lower level Kanoka disks to melt, he sigh peacefully at finally not having to invent new disk combinations or melting temperatures. Ever since Turaga Dume had commissioned him to construct the Mask of Time, Vakama had been highly stressed. Lost in his thoughts, Vakama accidentally knocked his entire supply of Kanoka into the forge where they instantly melted into an unusable blob of molten Protodermis.

Oh no! Now I’ll never be able to finish Turaga Dume’s mask!

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 10

Takua’s Gukko landed in the treetop village of Le-Koro amidst a cacophony of music. Turaga Matau always ensured that music was constantly played in the Village of Air to keep up the spirits of the Le-Matoran. Thus he had a score of musicians whose job it was to play music all of the time. They worked in groups of five and rotated every quarter day, which resulted in Le-Koro being the loudest and least war-like of all six Koro. The Ta-Matoran dismounted and was greeted by a Matoran wearing a Great Miru whom he knew was named Kongu, as he was the famous captain of Le-Koro’s Gukko army.

"Welcome, firespitter to treebright Le-Koro. Turaga Matau wishes to meet-see you in his tree."

Being allies with Le-Koro for several decades, all Ta-Matoran were familiar enough with the slang of the Le-Matoran, Treespeak, that they were able to understand them quite easily. Kongu pointed to the tree in the centre of the village, which also happened to be the largest, indicating that Matau could be found there. Takua walked along the nest-like road that the Le-Matoran had built to walk from tree to tree until he reached the hollow trunk Turaga Matau called home. Before he could enter, however, Turaga Matau’s green Kau Kau staff, his badge of office, shot out of the entrance and blocked his way.

"Quick-stop, Chronicler," said Matau. "Turaga Vakama wrote-told me that you must wait for him to wind-fly here before you do anything."

Although puzzled by this, Takua obeyed Matau and waited for the Turaga of Fire’s arrival. Not much later, another Gukko (this time bearing Vakama) landed on the nearby Gukko landing strip. The Turaga descended and went over to Matau and Takua. Without saying a word or even looking at Matau, Vakama beckoned Takua over to his side.

"Yes Turaga?"

Vakama placed a small rock, which Takua knew to be a Toa Stone, into the Ta-Matoran’s sack and, after checking Matau was not watching, took out the fake Noble Mahiki and quickly hid it in his robes. "Take the stone Turaga Matau gives you then go to Mount Ihu and follow the instructions of the Matoran that you meet there."

"But-"

"Continue the plan as discussed. I shall deal with Matau," Vakama said firmly. As Takua turned to go over to Matau, Vakama started to twitch. Takua gazed at him in shock as the Turaga’s eyes, which were normally a savage chartreuse colour, changed into a warmer shade of coral. Vakama shook his head violently, which caused the twitching to stop and his eyes to become green again. Still a little dumbfounded, Takua tentatively continued over to Turaga Matau who was running his fingers absentmindedly over the wires of his light green Noble Mahiki– it was a habit that many beings who wore that kind of mask developed.

"Good luck on your journey-quest!" called Matau after giving Takua his Koro’s Toa Stone. The Chronicler quickly explained to the nearest Gukko tamer that he needed to get to Ko-Koro and within a few moments, he was up on the air and flying north west. All throughout the trip, Vakama’s spasm occupied his thoughts as he tried to guess what it could mean and why it had happened.

When Takua was out of sight, Vakama walked over to Matau and with a movement of his head, gestured that they should go into Matau’s chamber for a private discussion. The room inside was plain and only had a few pieces furniture as well as bits of plants and wood littering the floor. In the centre of the room, was a table made out of a polished section of tree trunk for its top and three intertwined branches for legs. The two Turaga sat down opposite of each other at the table upon wickerwork stools and Vakama began to speak.

"Matau, we shall need to block off the windows and the door and make sure they are completely sealed. We can’t have anyone listening to out plans," said Vakama.

"But we could see anyone spy-listening through the door" reasoned Matau.

"From my experience, spies are very skilled at listening from where you least expect them," said Vakama, gesturing to the windows.

"Only a Gukko bird could-"

"I have been spied on by a Gukko before. I do not want to repeat the experience," said Vakama coldly. Finally, submitting to Vakama’s request, Matau took boards of wood from outside, blocked the windows, and then sealed them with tree resin; he then did the same to the door. When he had finished, the only light came from the diluted Madu Cabolo candle, which Vakama had lit and placed in the centre of the table.

"I have a bad feeling about our plan," Vakama confessed.

Matau looked at him quizzically. "Are you vision-seeing or is it... Hordika?" he asked with a little difficulty, as if saying the word ‘Hordika’ required physical effort.

"Are you still haunted by what happened a millennium ago?" Vakama scoffed. "I have overcome it, which is why I am in control."

"Be ever-careful brother, you are danger-playing with fire."

"Fire: the most powerful of all the elements," said Vakama impishly.

"Ah, but without Air, there is no Fire," retorted Matau sagely.

"Precisely, which is why I think we should have every single Le-Matoran riding a Gukko when I implement the plan. Perhaps the remaining Gukko could be sent to-"

"But should Air choose to turn on Fire..." Matau blew out the candle with a blast of elemental Air, instantly plunging the room into darkness.

Vakama sighed with annoyance; this often happened during conversations with Matau. The Turaga of Air would get distracted and then it would be impossible to get anything accomplished without taking drastic measures to regain his attention. Activating his Noble Mask of Concealment to hide the green light of his eyes, Vakama stood up and began to prowl around the room like a hunting Ash Bear: it was time for some of those drastic measures.

"Fire does indeed have its drawbacks," he admitted in a low growl. Matau’s glowing, crimson eyes darted all over the room in vain effort of finding the source of the voice. "Although, fire does have one advantage over all the other elements..." He walked up to the back of Matau’s stool and in a single motion, switched the Turaga’s mask with the one he had in his robes; the Turaga of Le-Koro was concentrating on his surroundings so much, that he did not even notice it happen.

Vakama stashed the stolen mask in his robes and deactivated his Huna. "It only takes a single spark to bring back fire from defeat," he said, illustrating his point by relighting the candle with his elemental power. The room was instantly flooded with light, which revealed a trembling Turaga Matau. "And from that spark, can arise victory." Vakama channelled all of his power over fire into the candle, and it was soon consumed by its own flame, which began burn the table upon which it sat as well. Matau jumped up from his stool and began to extinguish the fire with his own elemental power. By the time the fire was out, the table resembled something that might be found in the very heart of the Charred Forest.

"Our mission cannot fail, Matau," Vakama said to the bewildered Turaga of Air. "If we are to win this war, then we must have those Toa. Get every single Le-Matoran to ride a Gukko and recruit as many Ta-Matoran as possible. I hope I can count on you." Turaga Vakama left Matau holding the burnt remains of his table in quivering hands, his heart light flashing rapidly.
 

1 000 years earlier...

It was very late in the day and all of Ta-Metru’s workers were finishing their work for the night– all except Vakama. Although he had been able to help Brander get his work done, Vakama had not completed anything; in fact, he had made negative progress. He was now forced to trudge down the street that led to the Protodermis reclamation yard carrying a giant, silver blob of solid Protodermis that had once been his entire supply of Kanoka. A few of the forge workers snickered as he passed for they were used to seeing mask makers come by with cracked masks, not giant amorphous masses of metal.

"Hello there, Vakama," said Kalama, the reclamation yard attendant. He then noticed the metallic blob Vakama was carrying and gasped. "Were you hit by a Vahki stun staff when you made that mask?"

"No, I just accidentally knocked all my disks into the forge," Vakama replied moodily, handing Kalama his burden. "Do you know where I can get any more disks before sunsdown?"

"If you hurry, you might be able to get some disks from the border of Ga-Metru. I heard they’ve been giving away a whole bunch of level fives recently. Make sure you get back before the Vahki start patrolling, though."

Vakama thanked him and ran off for the nearest chute.

"Well, my friend," said Kalama, addressing the melted Kanoka, "it looks like I’ll soon be melting you down so that you can become a real mask. But that will be for tomorrow." Just as he began to lock the gate to the yard, a mask maker with a red Noble Ruru ran up to him.

"Wait! I have one last mask!" he cried, holding it up for Kalama to see.

"Good evening, Nuhrii. Ah yes, I see the hairline crack. Better luck next time."

Kalama tossed the mask into the pile of other flawed masks along with the blob. Little did the reclamation yard attendant know, but he would be seeing Nuhrii and Vakama again very shortly– both under much more dangerous situations.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 11

As Mount Ihu came into sight, a small, spherical, blue projectile hit Takua in the back. Felling around, he discovered that he had been hit by a Madu coconut and now its blue juices were all over his back. Before he could even guess how he had been hit by a Madu while several kio above the ground, the air was suddenly filled with a high-pitched screeching. Takua turned around and saw a swarm of Ice Bats, each carrying one Madu in their claws. He tried to steer the Gukko out of the way, but only knowing the signals for up and down, he was too late. The flying vermin pummelled him with hundreds of Madu that broke open with a loud ping as they hit his armour. Distracted by the bats, Takua’s Gukko crashed in the snow near the summit of Mount Ihu, sending its rider tumbling off its back.

The Ta-Matoran got up and dusted the snow off his once red and yellow armour that had now turned blue due to all of the Madu thrown at him. He looked to the top of the mountain and saw a caped Ko-Matoran running down from it towards him.

"Sorry about that," the Matoran said. "I guess those Ice Bats were stronger than I thought."

Takua gaped at him incredulously. "Too strong to do what? Knock my mask off?!"

"No, you misunderstand. I am Matoro; Vakama told me he would send you."

"So this is how you greet guests?" he asked, trying to scrape some of the frozen Madu juice off his arm.

"No! Stop! That’s your disguise." Matoro handed a mirror made of ice and polished metal. Takua looked at his reflection in disgust– he looked uncannily like a Ga-Matoran, especially with his already blue Pakari.

"Why on Mata Nui would you need me to look like that?!"

"The only way that the Ko-Matoran will join Ta-Koro in its fight against the Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran is if they believe one of the sides is their enemy."

Takua smiled slyly with comprehension. "What do you want me to do?"

Matoro led the blue Ta-Matoran to the entrance of Ko-Koro and pointed to Nuju’s igloo. Takua nodded and Matoro hid behind a large snowdrift so he could watch. Holding his Chronicler’s staff high above his head, Takua ran into the Village of Ice and began savaging Nuju’s door. He broke it down, ran inside, and tore off a gibbering Nuju’s mask and threw it into his now full sack. However, when he reached inside to place the powerless mask onto the unconscious Turaga’s face, he noticed something very strange: the part of the mask that attached to the wearer’s mouth had been deformed so it could no longer be worn. Even so, he tried to place the mask on Turaga Nuju, but it simply would not fit.

A black Noble Huna inquisitively popped in the doorway. Seeing what appeared to be a Ga-Matoran stealing Nuju’s mask, the owner of the Huna began to cry for help. It was imperative that Takua not get caught so he tossed the broken Noble Matatu on the ground, pushed his way past the Ko-Matoran by the door, and made a mad dash for the village’s exit.

"How did it go?" asked Matoro when Takua was finally well outside the village.

"I got the mask" Takua replied, panting. Using the language of the flying Rahi, Matoro instructed Takua’s Gukko to take him to Kini-Nui, where he would summon the Toa.

"Farewell, Takua" Matoro cried as Takua flew off for the nearby temple at the centre of the island. He then returned to Ko-Koro to deliver the villagers the sad news.

"Fellow Ko-Matoran, as many of you know, our beloved Turaga Nuju was recently assaulted by a Ga-Matoran assassin." Gathered around the shattered remains of Nuju’s door, were all the villagers of Ko-Koro, listening to Matoro’s announcement. "Although he is still alive, I doubt that he will survive for his mask is damaged beyond repair so he will soon succumb to cold and starvation. It is because of this that I propose we join Ta-Koro and Le-Koro in their fight against Ga-Koro and Po-Koro. All in favour?"

Unanimously, the Ko-Matoran all voted to join the war. Matoro delegated the village’s best ice carvers to set about making weapons and for everyone else to be trained by the members of the Sanctum Guard: the organization responsible for fending off wild Rahi who ventured to close to the village and protecting Ko-Koro’s Wall of Prophecy from damage. After the crowd dissipated, the new leader of the Ko-Matoran entered the igloo in front of which he stood to check on Nuju.

Matoro had propped the Turaga up against the wall to make it look as though he cared about what happened to him. He picked up the Noble Matatu from the ground and studied it closely in hope of discovering why it would not fit on Nuju’s face. Then he saw it– the mouthpiece of the mask had been melted and scorched.

Vakama, he thought, smiling at his ally’s brilliance as well as his malevolence.

1 000 years earlier...

Turaga Dume resembled a typical Turaga of Fire; his armour was red and black, he wore a Noble Kiril, and he used a staff to support himself when he walked. The figure that now stood on the balcony of Metru Nui’s Coliseum also looked like this.

 

Makuta had once been a protector of the Matoran, but almost a year and a half ago, he came to Metru Nui and disguised himself as the city’s Turaga. The real Dume had been placed into stasis and hidden in the Archives where no one would find him until it was too late. Makuta planned to put the Matoran into stasis, erase their memories, and then awaken them, pretending to be the Great Spirit. Doing so, however, would send the real Mata Nui into an endless slumber, but it was a sacrifice that he was willing to make.

There was only one thing that could possibly go wrong with the plan: Lhikan. The last Toa of Metru Nui could wreck everything, which was why Makuta had hired two Dark Hunters to capture him. He knew, however, that Lhikan would succeed in creating six new Toa before his capture– that was inevitable, but whom Lhikan would choose for the task was another matter. With his ability to read minds, Makuta had learned that Lhikan was toying with the idea of making the six Matoran who had discovered the location of the six Great Disks into Toa. Makuta knew that he would have to make Lhikan pick a less unified team– a group of Matoran so different that it would be impossible for them to work together as Toa. The false Turaga had sifted through the hundreds of denizens of Metru Nui and had finally decided upon six: Vakama, Nokama, Onewa, Nuju, Matau, and Whenua. Makuta was not sure how he knew, but he could just tell that they would be of no threat to him at all. He then telepathically sent the names of these Matoran into Lhikan’s mind so he would choose them to be Toa instead. As Metru Nui’s twin suns sank below the horizon, Makuta gave a malicious chuckle for it would not be many days until those suns set for the last time.

In Ta-Metru, Lhikan awoke with a gasp. It was now or never. He leaped onto his air board and flew to the Great Temple in Ga-Metru. He sighed deeply, took an ornate stone from out of the Suva shrine, and began to put Toa power into it. It was time for a new generation of heroes.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 12

Flapping its wings slowly and forcefully to slow its descent, Takua’s Gukko landed in the valley forest that surrounded the Kini-Nui temple at the island’s centre. Though it was impossible to tell because it was late at night, the Ta-Matoran’s armour had reverted back to its original red and yellow now that the frozen Madu juice had melted off. He slid off the giant bird’s back and ran over to Turaga Vakama, who was standing by the dome-shaped Suva Kaita and gazing up at the cloudless, starry sky. Takua held out the bag of Kanohi and Toa Stone and gave a small cough to get his Turaga’s attention. Vakama turned towards him, greedily snatched the sack, and peered inside to see if everything was there. Evidently satisfied, he extracted the six Toa Stones and handed them to Takua.

"Chronicler," he said. "You shall have the honour of summoning the Toa."

Takua nodded solemnly and approached the giant stone structure. In no particular order, he began to place the stones into niches around the perimeter of the dome. When they were all in place, they started to glow, each a different colour. Suddenly, a beam of gold energy shot out of the centre of the dome right where Takua was standing and sent him flying in the air. Realizing what was happening, Vakama shot out his staff with animal-like reflexes and snagged the Ta-Matoran, pulling him out of the way of the beam. Carried by the momentum of the blast, Takua flew away from the staff and through the air in a parabolic arc that caused him to crash into one of the temple’s four stone pillars, which cracked at the bottom and landed on his legs. He tried to move, but his legs were pinned beneath the giant rock and so he was trapped. Caring only that Takua was at least alive, Vakama turned his gaze back towards the black sky full of stars, specifically the one that was bright red.

A few bio off of Mata Nui’s coast, another being was watching the Red Star. Nixie the astrologer was looking through her telescope mounted on the roof of the cabin of the Ga-Matoran armada’s flag ship and checking the progress of the bright celestial body used to predict the future.

"Nokama! It’s there! The Toa have been summoned" she cried to the awaiting Turaga of Water. Nokama nodded and called to the Ga-Matoran lookout to uncover the Lightstone signal at the top of the ship’s mast. Almost instantly, the other ships of the armada had uncovered their own signals which made it look as though the stars had fallen into the sea.

"Move out" Nokama ordered the Ga-Matoran at the helm, Pelagia, "We’re going to catch some Toa."

High above the fleet was a squad of fifteen or so Le-Matoran and Ta-Matoran all riding on Gukko, one of which was Jaller. The Ta-Matoran captain clutched his bident and watched the water below vigilantly. Turaga Vakama had chosen him and ten other Ta-Matoran to be trained as Gukko pilots for this crucial mission. The plan was to capture all six Toa and bring them to Ta-Koro. From there, Vakama would order them to make five Toa Stones each so they could turn more Matoran into Toa and then order those Toa to do the same. The process would continue as such until Vakama had an unstoppable army of Toa at his control with which he could crush the other Koro.

However, the Po-Matoran had somehow caught wind of this and had formed a similar plan with the Ga-Matoran. According to Turaga Matau’s spies, every ship in the armada had surrounded the island and was planning on capturing the Toa as well. Meanwhile, the Po-Matoran would stay behind and guard Po-Koro and the Naho Bay harbour. As Jaller had flown to his current location, he had indeed seen them– figures all over the two northern Wahi. Luckily, they did not yet know about the new Ko-Koro alliance and would be caught unaware when Matoro mounted an offensive against their Koro with the help of the remaining Ta-Matoran soldiers. Either way, the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran had no hope of victory.

Jaller was instantly pulled from his thoughts when he saw the sea fill with lights: the Ga-Matoran were making their move. Kongu, the squad leader, began to descend and Jaller followed. Readying their throwing disks and bidents, they prepared for a direct assault on the flagship. Suddenly, a boulder the size of Jaller’s head flew through the air and hit the Le-Matoran to his right, cleaving his mask in two, and sending him falling into the sea.

"Pull back!" cried Kongu as another Matoran fell to his death. Despite his hate of retreating, Jaller obeyed for he knew there was no way to fight Kolhii balls from a Gukko.

"What just quick-happened?" Kongu asked once they had reached a safe altitude.

"It seems that Vakama has made a fatal error," Jaller replied grimly as a Toa canister rushed through the water towards the island like a juggernaut and was intercepted by one of the ships. "An error that may cost us the war."

1 000 years earlier...

Few beings could catch Lhikan when he flew on his air board and he sincerely hoped that the two figures that were following him now were not an exception to that rule. Nidhiki and Krekka were two notorious Dark Hunters and for some reason or other, they were trying to capture Metru Nui’s final Toa. Lhikan had enough experience with the Dark Hunters to know that capture was the last thing anyone wanted from them. Up ahead was one of the city’s many transportation chutes. Without changing course or even pausing to think, Lhikan flew straight into its gelatinous substance and was instantly whisked away. The Dark Hunters stopped short of the chute and Nidhiki spat out an energy bolt at the ground angrily.

"He could be anywhere by now," the insectoid hissed.

"Why don’t we follow that green thing?" Krekka suggested, pointing at the chute with a muscular arm.

"I’m scared to say it, Krekka, but that might actually be a good idea."

Lhikan watched as the two Dark Hunters entered the chute and were sent half way across the island city, little did they know that he had left the chute after travelling only a few bio. The Toa of Fire set off in the opposite direction of the Dark Hunters and presently came to his destination: a Ga-Metru school. He stepped inside and looked around, but it seemed to be deserted. Just as he turned to go, the door burst open and a Ga-Matoran ran it.

"Sorry I’m late, Nokama, I-" but she stopped as soon as she noticed Lhikan. "What are you doing here, Toa Lhikan?" she asked politely.

"There’s no time to explain. Find Nokama and give this to her," he replied, thrusting a small package into the Ga-Matoran’s hands. With that, he hopped onto his flying board and flew off, hoping that he was not too late.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 13

All over the island, other squads of Gukko riders were experiencing similar defeats at the hands of the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran. It was clear that the small bands of warriors simply could not combat the assault of boulders flung from the ships, let alone make any effort to retrieve the Toa canisters from the water. As the ships all returned to the coast of Ga-Wahi with their precious cargo, the Gukko squads attempted to make pursuit, but finally succumbing to too many casualties, they were forced to retreat to Le-Koro.

To the island’s north, however, events were taking a different turn for the forces the southern three Koro. Matoro shattered a life-sized statue of Matoran with the late Nuju’s Ice Pick, confusion etched all over his face. Behind him was an army of three hundred Matoran under his command, which was entering a gaping hole in the Po-Wahi wall that had been made by the specially crafted ice weapons of the Ko-Matoran.  These weapons, although useful near the cold foothills of Mount Ihu on the Po-Wahi border, melted as soon as the army entered the island’s desert region. As the soldiers made their way through the rubble, their expressions all changed to mimic that of Matoro. Rather than have to defend against a barrage of Kolhii balls and angry army of Po-Matoran like they had expected, they instead only saw several statues carved in the likeness of Matoran.

"What’s going on?" asked Keahi, a lieutenant in the Ta-Matoran army, after walking up to Matoro.

The Ko-Matoran was silent for a few moments before replying, "I’m not sure..." After a little more silence, he turned around and faced the yellow and red Matoran. "Tell Kalama to gather the army and spread out through the region, but make sure that everyone is on guard– this could be a trap."

"Yes sir," said Keahi, saluting. As the Ta-Matoran ran off to execute his command, Matoro turned his gaze back to the barren wasteland and smiled to himself.

Sir? I think I could get used to that... he thought, glad that nearly four centuries of deceit had finally paid off. As Matoro considered all that had happened in the past day, he was quite impressed with himself. Vakama and Matau had supplied all the Ko-Matoran with bidents as well as twenty warriors to help the Sanctum Guard protect Ko-Wahi while the remaining Ko-Matoran, along with nearly eight score Ta-Matoran and Le-Matoran warriors, were put under Matoro’s command for the surprise attack on Po-Wahi. Looking around at all the statues of Matoran that seemed to make up the desert’s entire population, however, it seemed that such a large attacking force was highly unnecessary.

The army did not need to explore for long until it was quite obvious that Po-Wahi was completely uninhabited. Matoro called the two Ta-Matoran lieutenants together to discuss the present situation and everyone more or less agreed that the statues were just decoys to fool any spies into thinking that the Po-Matoran were still defending their homeland.

"So what do we do now?" enquired Kalama.

"I guess Po-Wahi is ours now" replied Matoro hesitantly. "I want you two to split the army in three. Keahi, take one hundred soldiers to guard to hole we made in the south west corner; Kalama, you take another hundred and try to take Naho Bay or at least guard the east gate; and I will take the rest of the army to scour the region for resources or weapons. Report to Po-Koro at sunrise."

The two lieutenants saluted, returned to the troops, and proceeded to sort them into three divisions. Once the groups were decided, everyone set off to follow Matoro’s orders. As dawn broke, the lieutenants went to meet Matoro in Po-Koro, which was now being guarded by his third of the army.

"Any news?" the Ko-Matoran asked brightly.

"None, sir," said Keahi "The south west corner is completely secure."

"Excellent, how about you, Kalama?"

"We saw the full armada enter Naho Bay, sir, but they made no attempt to enter through the gate."

"Is that all, Lieutenant?"

"Not quite..." said Kalama, looking down at his feet.

"Well?" said Matoro expectantly.

"One of the Ta-Matoran says he thinks he saw something."

"Who was it? Bring him to me," the Ko-Matoran commanded.

The Ta-Matoran lieutenant obliged and returned a few moments later with another inhabitant of his Koro who wore an orange Akaku.

"This is Aft, sir," said Kalama, nudging the other Ta-Matoran forward.

"Thank you, Kalama," said Matoro. He then turned to Aft, "Tell me what you saw."

"Well... on the biggest ship, I think I saw six large metal things... they seemed to be some kind of canisters."

The Ko-Matoran went rigid with shock; this was very bad news.

1 000 years earlier...

Groaning loudly, Nokama sat up and looked around sleepily. For a few moments, she could not even begin to guess why she had been sleeping on the ground, but then she remembered what had happened yesterday. The Ga-Matoran heaved herself onto her feet and stretched. A few bio away, Onewa was fast asleep right next to the basin which held broken tools and sculptures; he had evidently fallen asleep while cleaning. Nokama decided to let him sleep and started picking through the rubble again to see if any of the carver’s smaller creations had survived. Underneath a cracked table, she found an apparently undamaged statuette of Toa Lhikan, but as she reached for it, four robotic Vahki Zadakh walked over to her in bipedal mode and pointed at her with their stun staffs. Being a usually levelheaded Matoran, Nokama calmly placed her hands out where the Zadakh could easily see them and explained herself to them.

"Onewa’s statue fell yesterday and I was just cleaning it up so that we could get back to work." Nokama made sure to put extra emphasis on ‘get back to work’ in an effort to make the Vahki as co-operative as possible; ‘get back to work’ being their four favourite words in the Matoran language.

 

The Zadakh turned towards each other and discussed this. Then, without so much looking at the Ga-Matoran teacher, the four Zadakh began to fire Kanoka of shrinking at the larger pieces of rubble to make it easier to clear away. She thanked them, regardless of the fact that she knew they did not care about manners, and went back to retrieving the statuette of Lhikan. Now that it was in her hands, though, she could see that it had a hairline crack all the way down its back. Sighing loudly, Nokama tossed it into the basin and went back to the rubble pile. As she was digging through a mound of broken masonry, one of her students ran up to her as fast as she could with a small package in her hands.

"What’s going on Kotu?" she asked.

"Lhikan... package... no time to lose," the other Ga-Matoran panted. Nokama took the package from her and placed it on a nearby brick while her student caught her breath. Once Kotu was fully rested, she began to speak.

"Toa Lhikan told me to give this to you and I’ve been looking all over Ga-Metru to find you. When no one said they had seen you come home, I thought you must still be in Po-Metru."

"Thank you very much. And if you see any of your classmates, be sure to tell them that the lessons for today and tomorrow are cancelled."

"Okay," replied her student as she set off for the closest chute station. When Kotu was finally out of sight, Nokama unwrapped the package from its malleable Protodermis covering and a smooth stone fell into her outstretched hand. It was a translucent deep sapphire colour that shone brilliantly when held up to the light. The wrapping turned out to be a map which led to Ga-Metru’s most famous building: the Great Temple. After scribbling a quick note to Onewa on a chipped slab of stone, Nokama set off for the temple and let her Po-Matoran friend continue to sleep.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 14

An explosion sent the canister’s lid and its metallic contents flying. For a moment, they lay on the beach’s sand then one of them moved. It grabbed hold of some sort of limb and attached it to a piece that seemed to be a torso. It continued to do so with the other pieces until a tall figure stood beside the canister and looked around.

I have slept for so long. My dreams have been dark ones, it thought, But now I am awakened. Now the scattered elements of my being are rejoined. Now I am whole. The figure bent over, picked up a Great Kanohi Mask, and placed it upon his face. And the darkness cannot stand before me.

He looked down at the weapon in his hand; it was a sword. Holding it up high above his head, he was amazed at how brightly it reflected the early morning light. In his other hand was a white shield, which was the same colour as his sword as well as the rest of his armour. Although it was light-weight and small, he could tell that it was very strong and extremely well balanced.

Kopaka... The word drifted through his mind, sounding oddly familiar, as if it was his name. Well, I can’t remember anything else so I might as well stick with ‘Kopaka’ as my name for now, he reasoned. Kopaka returned his gaze to his sword and examined it intently through the telescopic lens on his mask. In his weapon’s reflection, he saw a being standing behind him that wore mask identical to his own, only orange. Not sure whether the being was friend of foe, Kopaka spun around and instinctively shot a blast of energy through his sword at its feet that encased them in ice.

"Speak," Kopaka commanded. "Tell me who you are and where I am."

Shaking, more with fear, perhaps, than perhaps with cold, the figure responded. "M-m-my n-name is Bour and you are on th-th-th-the island of Mata Nui."

"Now we’re getting somewhere," said Kopaka in a low voice only he could hear. He walked over to Bour, who was barely one third his height, and unfroze him with his sword once again. "What am I doing here?"

"The Turaga said that you would probably be dangerous after awakening so you were all placed in special coves-"

"‘You’ as in plural?" Kopaka interrupted, not caring that Bour had not answered his question.

"Yes– there are five other Toa; you are the Toa of Ice."

That would explain my powers, Kopaka thought. "And what is this ‘Turaga’ you speak of?" he asked after a slight pause.

"They warned me this would happen" said Bour, shaking his head.

"They?"

"Erm... never mind. You’ll find out soon enough." As Kopaka looked curiously at Bour, the smaller being began to look around furtively. Then, he motioned for the taller white figure to bend down so that he could whisper something to him. "Do you remember why you came here?"

Kopaka thought hard. Suddenly, an image from the dreams he had while in the canister sprung into his mind. It was a pair of glowing, crimson eyes enshrouded in shadow. The greed, hate, and anger that emanated from them almost palpably made Kopaka feel cold inside– despite the fact that he was on a tropical beach. Overwhelmed by all this, Kopaka simply nodded.

As Bour opened his mouth to speak, though, another short, masked figure popped his head out from behind a rock.

"Are you done yet? Tahu’s already halfway there!"

Bour gave Kopaka a meaningful stare, but then turned to the newcomer and said, "Yeah, he’s coming, Hewkii" Turning back to Kopaka, he pointed to the right. "Follow the coast that way, there you will meet Turaga Nokama and Onewa."

"But I have more questions-"

"I’m just a Matoran, I don’t know these things. The Turaga will explain everything."

Kopaka sighed loudly, but followed the Matoran’s directions. He did not walk long until he heard something behind him. He spun around and had just enough time to lift his shield to block the oncoming brown blur that was speeding towards him. The object collided with Kopaka and, despite his shield, sent him flying several bio backwards and causing him to end up sprawling on the sand. A being about his own height with abnormally large feet walked over to him and offered him a hand up. However, Kopaka refused it and got up under his own power.

"Sorry about that," chuckled the figure in a gruff voice. "Mind if I ask your name?"

"Yes," said Kopaka coldly, walking off.

"Well, my name’s Pohatu and according to Hewkii, I’m the Toa of Stone."

Realizing that Pohatu might be able to answer some of his many questions, Kopaka halted abruptly and, without turning, said, "Do you know anything else?"

"Uh... not really."

Kopaka gripped his sword and shield tightly in annoyance and kept on walking.

"By the way, what’s your elemental power?" asked Pohatu, running to catch up to him. Wordlessly and without stopping, Kopaka fired a blast of energy at the nearby ocean water and created a giant, spiked pillar of ice. "Not bad at all. Hey, what about your mask power? Mine’s the Kakama, the Great Mask of Speed." He then demonstrated by running up and down the beach so fast that Kopaka could barely follow him with his eyes. "Impressed?" asked Pohatu, running back to him.

Although he was impressed, Kopaka kept on ignoring Pohatu and wished very hard that he would just go away; however, Pohatu did not. The rest of the journey along the coastline was filled with Pohatu showing off and asking questions, all of which Kopaka continued ignoring, though the urge to encase the Toa of Stone in a giant block of ice was very strong.

After what seemed like ages, the pair arrived at a more open area of the beach where two other diminutive figures, presumably the Turaga, were standing along with three other Toa: one red, one black, and one blue. The tan coloured Turaga looked at Kopaka and Pohatu and greeted them warmly.

"Ah, you have awakened. Welcome to the island of Mata Nui."

"Thank you very much," said Pohatu brightly. The group did not need to wait much longer until the final Toa arrived, when he did, introductions were made.

"Tell us, Turaga," said Tahu, the Toa of Fire "Why are we here?"

"Yes," said Lewa, the green Toa of Air, "In my worry-dreams I saw much evil-fear."

"Indeed," replied the cyan Turaga, Nokama, "There is much evil here and it is led by Vakama."

"Who is this Vakama?" asked Onua, the Toa of Earth, scratching his head with one of his large, black claws.

"He is a Turaga, like us, but an evil one," she explained. "He seeks to enslave all the Matoran and destroy any who will not bow to him."

"Then he must be stopped!" cried Tahu, raising his red, flame-shaped sword in anger.

"Of course," said the tan Turaga, Onewa. "He summoned you six Toa in an attempt to harness your power for his own means, luckily Nokama and I were able to put a stop to that."

"What must we do?" asked Gali, the blue Toa of Water.

"Listen closely" Onewa replied. As Kopaka heard all of this, as well as the Turaga’s plan, he could not help but feel that something was out place on this island and Bour’s odd behaviour only made it more apparent.

1 000 years earlier...

Ahkmou walked with a nice spring in his step to Po-Metru’s chute station to pick up some carver’s tools for his ‘good friend’ Onewa. The Po-Matoran’s happy disposition had been caused by the recent obliteration of his rival’s work area and all his creations. This now meant that Ahkmou finally had a chance to surpass Onewa and would no doubt end up as Metru Nui’s most skilled carver; the sole reason he was picking up Onewa’s order was so that he would have another excuse to gloat.

Fresh from the furnaces of Ta-Metru, the silver tools shone brightly in the sunslight as Ahkmou took them out of the chute station and began to walk back to Onewa’s work area (being sure to take as many detours as possible so as to delay his rival even more). As he reached an emptier part of the Metru, though, he was astonished to see none other than Toa Lhikan fly towards him on his air board. The red and gold Toa leapt from his vehicle and tossed Ahkmou a small package that was wrapped in foil made from Protodermis.

"Quickly; give this to Onewa as soon as you can," he said, jumping back on to the board and flying south.

Ahkmou felt the package in his hands; it seemed to be some kind of stone. Reasoning that it must be another thing for Onewa to carve, he changed direction and went off to his own work area– whatever the package was, it could wait until the evening. I’ll be quick, alright, he smirked, As far as Dermis Turtles are concerned, that is.

 

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Edited March 14, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 15

The army stood with baited breath at the entrance of Po-Wahi’s gate. The sun had just set behind the rocky hills of Onu-Wahi and dusk was beginning to set in, with it came fog from over the sea. Matoro ordered Lightstones to be handed out through the ranks, but they provided little light in the increasingly thick fog. The soldiers tightened their grip on their bidents or bamboo throwing disks and waited nervously in the ominous darkness. All that could be heard was the desert wind in the distance, the occasional cry of a stray Rahi, and the heavy breathing of the warriors in anticipation.

A murmur broke out in the ranks. Matoro turned to the two lieutenants to see if they knew what the discussion was about, but they simply shrugged. Curiously, he tapped a nearby Le-Matoran on the shoulder.

"Soldier, what’s going on?" he asked in a low voice.

"Sanso says he heard creaking, sir."

"Creaking?"

"Yes, like the rigging on a ship, sir."

Matoro took a deep breath and tightened his grip on Nuju’s Ice Pick. The Toa were coming and it would not be long until they arrived.

"All disk throwers prepare to fire on my command!" he ordered. The murmuring stopped and the threshold of the gate was once again silent. Matoro could see the heartlights of the soldiers as well his own flashing rapidly in anticipation; they had never been in a battle with Toa before, but if the Turaga’s legends were true, this could very well be their last. Gradually, everyone could hear the creaking of the rigging; the boats were getting very close.

For a moment, an uneasy silence set in. Matoro checked with the lookouts on top of the wall, but the darkness and fog prevented them from seeing anything. Suddenly, a loud boom filled the air and the wooden gate shook violently. Several Matoran, including their Ko-Matoran commander, jolted at this sudden noise, but quickly resumed a fighting stance. The gate took several more assaults and the reports from the lookouts indicated that it could not take much more damage. In any other battle, it would be prudent to barricade the gate or at least have Matoran soldiers push back on it, however, when you are fighting beings that can control nature itself, new strategies are required.

With a final hit, the gate exploded into tiny slivers of wood that bounced harmlessly off of the army’s metallic armour. For a moment, there was silence, then a beam of energy shot straight at Matoro, but instead hit the Le-Matoran in front of him and encased him in a block of ice.

"Attack!" cried Matoro, brandishing his Ice Pick for emphasis. Disks flew through the open gateway and into the darkness. Instantly, there was a flash of orange light and the bitter smell of burnt bamboo filled the air. As Matoro opened his mouth to issue a charge, six beams of energy shot through the gateway and sent nearly two score soldiers flying through the air.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Matoro found himself screaming. "Head for Ko-Koro! Every Matoran for himself!"

Lightstones were dropped and sand was kicked into the air as three hundred Matoran made a mad dash across the desert of Po-Wahi. Matoro did not turn back once or even care how many soldiers were lost in the retreat, all that mattered to him was getting back to Ko-Koro alive. Completely out of breath, he finally made it back to the army’s entrance hole in the wall and nearly collapsed down beside it, but he knew that if anyone was to survive, he would have to be strong.

As Ko-Matoran, Ta-Matoran, and Le-Matoran alike ran for the hole, Matoro helped them all through and hoped against hope that Mata Nui would protect them from the Toa. When nearly one hundred or possibly two hundred (Matoro had lost count) Matoran had made it through, the little Ko-Matoran saw something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. In the distance, he could see a pair of glowing, orange eyes coming towards him at high speed. With the telescopic lens in his mask, he was able to see that the figure, presumably a Toa due to his larger stature, would soon find their exit hole in the wall if he continued running; if he did, Ko-Koro would not stand a chance.

Matoro knew there was only one thing he could do, despite what his mind kept telling him. If he was to remain in command of the Ko-Matoran, he would have to attack this Toa head on, or at least stop him from finding their exit point and a clear route to the Village of Ice. Abandoning all logic, reason, and survival instinct, Matoro ran towards the Toa yelling a fearsome battle cry. Evidently caught by surprise by Matoro’s apparent insanity, the Toa did not try to stop the Ko-Matoran as he jumped onto the larger being’s arm and tried to climb it to get to his mask. The Toa shook his arm violently to try to get Matoro to fall off, but the Ko-Matoran was able to anchor himself on by sticking the Ice Pick into a gap in the Toa’s shoulder armour. Although not damaging, the Ice Pick clearly annoyed the Toa who punched Matoro off his arm and sent him flying onto the cold, night time desert sand.

After knocking the sand out of his mask’s lens, Matoro looked around, but he could not see any Matoran running for the hole. The Toa, on the other hand, who was new to the region, did not yet know about the escape hole and was currently searching around for all the Matoran he had seen run by this way. Quickly thinking, Matoro rushed to the hole and began trying to get the Toa’s attention in hopes that he could trick the Toa into inadvertently blocking the hole with his elemental powers. He was not sure whether or not he could survive something like that, but with the alternative being that his Koro would taken from him after only a few days of ruling it, he was willing to take that chance.

"Hey! Over here!" he yelled, throwing a rock at the Toa’s head. Although it only bounced off with a loud ping, it was enough to get the Toa to turn towards Matoro and fire a beam of energy at him. Matoro braced himself for impact and prepared for his final breath when out of nowhere, a Ko-Matoran who had not yet made it outside the wall jumped at Matoro and pushed him through the hole and out of the way of the attack. After skidding across the rocky ground for a few bio, Matoro jumped to his feet to see what had happened to his saviour. Matoro’s mouth fell open in shock as he saw that the place the Matoran had fallen after saving him– the hole in the wall– was covered by a giant boulder.

1 000 years earlier...

Whenua found it remarkable how much progress he had made on the Bohrok yesterday. With some experimentation, he had learned that this particular Bohrok had the power to shoot ice from the shields it carried– ice which, rather than be easy to control like a Toa’s elemental powers, seemed to only have destructive purposes.

I wonder if someone could make an army of these, he said to himself idly as he picked up the measurement tools he had ordered from the docks. They certainly would be powerful enough. Whenua continued wondering about this as he returned to his workspace to begin today’s experiments. His schedule still missing in action, he was going to study some of the other Bohrok he had been shipped today. According to legend, there were six types of the beetle-like creatures, each a different colour; Tahnok were red, Gahlok were blue, Lehvak were green, Pahrak were brown, Nuhvok were black, and lastly, the one that he had already studied was Kohrak. Whenua was highly thankful to the Great Beings that the shipment he had received contained one of each.

The archivist pried open the transparent shell on the head of a Lehvak and with a vile squelch, removed its scarlet Krana and placed it into another stasis container. Then, using his new tools, he measured the specimen and compared it to the Kohrak. After a few moments, he found that they were virtually identical, but the strange thing was there were no signs of assembly. Rather than try to fathom what baffled the greatest Ko-Matoran scholars to this day, Whenua decided to see how this Bohrok responded to commands compared to the last one.

"Unfold" he said, calmly this time, now that he knew what to expect. The Lehvak obeyed and unfolded from the ball into which it was huddled, into a round, hunched creature that was only a little bit shorter than Whenua. "Walk." Once again, the Lehvak obeyed just like the Kohrak had. Satisfied that it could follow commands, Whenua decided to test its ability to attack. After making sure that it was not facing anything fragile– an unfortunate mistake he had made with the Kohrak– he ordered the creature to attack.

Two streams of acid flew from its green shield and proceeded to burn a hole in the wall at an alarming rate. "Stop!" cried Whenua as he fumbled for his disk launcher and a Kanoka of Regeneration. He fired the disk at the wall, repaired the hole, and quickly commanded the Lehvak to return into a ball.

How strange, he thought as he proceeded to remove the bright blue Krana from a Tahnok. I would have thought that it would have had the power of Air...

The rest of the morning was spent testing out the abilities of the other four varieties of Bohrok, which all seemed to have elemental powers that matched the Metru with their same colour. As Whenua was about to start examining the Krana, though, the door to his workspace burst open and Onepu ran in once again.

"You Akilini head! You’re supposed to be sorting artefacts right now!"

Whenua looked up from his work. "But I’ve just discovered something really important about Bohrok! I’m sure Turaga Dume would-"

"No, it’s not that," said the purple masked Onu-Matoran. "Toa Lhikan has been looking everywhere for you, especially when you didn’t turn up where you were supposed to be."

"Lhikan was looking for me?" asked Whenua quizzically.

"Yes, he wanted me to give this to you as soon as I could" Onepu replied, tossing his friend a small stone. Whenua caught it, and the other Onu-Matoran hurried away. He opened the foil that surrounded it and quickly scanned the map of the Great Temple on the inside. Then, without a second thought about the Bohrok, he rushed to the nearest chute station; urgent messages from Toa tended to do that to people.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 16

It had been three days since Gukko riders had picked up Takua and Vakama from Kini-Nui and neither of them had left their quarters since. For Takua, it was understandable; both his legs were still highly damaged from the pillar falling on them at Kini-Nui and so he was unable to leave his home in the Wall of History. According to Lumi, the Ko-Matoran medic, he might never recover.

Vakama, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter. The only Matoran he had spoken to since returning to Ta-Koro had been Captain Jaller and that was only once. The villagers had begun to worry, but Jaller assured them that everything was fine and that they should focus on training in case the Toa began to move south. When asked what Vakama was doing, the captain simply replied that he was planning their next strategy.

Truth be told, Turaga Vakama had finished coming up with a plan days ago, but the problem was that he could not decide if it was time to follow through with it. If successful, it would no doubt assure a Ta-Matoran victory in the war, but there were many unfavourable outcomes to the plan that could arise if his timing was off. The past days had been spent deciding how to prevent these negative consequences from occurring. As of now, though, the main problem was that Vakama was worried that his plan was a bit too obvious.

But then, how obvious can it be if not even Turaga Matau suspects anything? Vakama smiled to himself. The plan would indeed work and now that he had all the Noble Kanohi, it would not be long until the other Turaga would fall before his power. The Kanohi! In all his anger at the loss of the Toa, Turaga Vakama had completely forgotten about them. After making a quick check for spies, he grabbed the sack of masks from his bed and opened the trapdoor that led to the Suva room.

The light from Vakama’s Firestaff shone brightly on the smooth surface and six carved faces of the Suva as he descended the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he walked up to the red, metallic structure, opened the bag, took out the five grey masks, and then proceeded to place them on the carved faces. When he had finished, every face, except the one at the front of the Suva, was covered by a Noble Mask of Power. Vakama stared distractedly at the uncovered face, thinking about the mask that might one day go there. Although he longed for it, receiving the mask would be bittersweet for it could only come to him through a terrible betrayal.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of these confusing thoughts, Vakama decided he would test his new acquisitions. Closing his eyes and clearing his mind, Vakama concentrated on Whenua’s Ruru, the Noble Mask of Night Vision. Instantly, his Huna vanished and the rectangular form of the Ruru materialized onto his face. Vakama then extinguished his Firestaff and activated the mask. It worked perfectly! It was almost as though he had been in broad daylight.

A knock at his door caused him to quickly switch back to his Noble Huna, re-light his Firestaff, and hurry back up the stairs with the empty Kanohi bag in his hand. Vakama pushed his bed back over the trapdoor and peered through the crack in his wooden door to see who was there. Captain Jaller was standing outside, tapping one of his large, yellow feet idly so Vakama opened the door, let him in, and then promptly shut it behind him.

"Turaga, the troops are worried," Jaller reported. "They want to know what our next move is."

"Naturally," replied Vakama, nodding. "Captain, I want you to have as many Ta-Matoran and Ko-Matoran as possible trained to fly Gukko."

"Any particular reason?"

"None that I would like to share at the moment," Vakama chuckled.

"There is... something else, Turaga," said Jaller hesitantly. Vakama gave him an expectant glance and he continued. "Remember the rumours before about Vohon?"

"Yes, wasn’t he trying to get the troops to desert?"

"Correct. Some of the soldiers say he’s been sneaking out at night."

Vakama stroked his Kanohi for a few moments while looking at the floor thoughtfully and then looked up at the captain. "You are dismissed."

Jaller saluted and then both of them left the stone building. The yellow and red Ta-Matoran went to the hut of Ambassador Tamaru, evidently to organize the Gukko training, while Vakama slunk into the shadows behind the nearest barrack and waited. It was not long until night fell and a Ta-Matoran left the square, grey building behind which Vakama was hiding, and set off for Ta-Koro’s main gate. The Turaga of Fire activated his Huna, the Noble Mask of Concealment, and hurried after him.

The Matoran signalled to the gate’s guard who pulled the lever that lifted the portcullis and raised the pillars of stone out from the lava that were used as a bridge to cross the village’s fiery moat. Thanking the guard, the Matoran jogged across the bridge and out into the Charred Forest. Vakama darted after him and just made it to the other side as the guard had begun lowering the bridge back into the lava. Even with his limited control over fire, Vakama knew that his elemental powers would not save him from molten rock.

Vakama followed the Matoran for what seemed like the whole night. In the darkness of the blackened wood, there was no need for Vakama to use his Huna, but even so, there were a few times when the Matoran would stop suddenly and look around as though he suspected someone was following him. In those instances, Vakama decided to test out his new Mahiki, the Noble Mask of Illusion, by summoning it to disguise himself as a burnt log. Finally, after Vakama was thoroughly covered in soot from brushing against so much scorched vegetation, the pair made it to a clearing at the base of Mount Ihu and the Matoran stopped.

In the clearing, there was a roaring fire with a few Matoran sitting around it as well as what appeared to be a small boulder; Vakama was unable to see any them clearly due to the jumping light of the fire. As the Ta-Matoran entered the clearing, one of the other Matoran stood up and greeted him. Activating his Huna, Vakama leaned closer to hear what they were saying.

"Welcome Vohon," drawled a shrewd voice. "We have been waiting for you."

"Were you able to convince-" began Vohon, but the other Matoran cut him off.

"Yes we were." The speaker then made a gesture to what Vakama had mistaken for a boulder beside him.  The 'boulder', to Vakama’s amazement, then stood up and reached a height of over one and a half bio. There was no mistaking it– that was no boulder, it was a Toa!

1 000 years earlier...

It was midday before Matau made it back to the moto hub. After falling unconscious from the crash, being carried out of the wreck by a Keerakh, waking up at the point of a stun staff, and having to explain the situation to the Vahki several times, he was exhausted. On top of all that, the mechanical law enforcers had revoked his chute pass which meant that he had to walk all the way back. The instant he wearily pushed the door open, a Le-Matoran techie by the name of Kumo ran up to him and began yelling.

"Matau! Now is not the time for slow-walking! Speak-tell me ever-quick, where did you stop-leave the airship?"

Matau hung his great Mahiki in shame. "In Ko-Metru."

"What?!" exclaimed Kumo in disbelief.

"I was wind-flying back here when something broke-hit the propulsion Kanoka so the ship quick-fell and crashed into a Knowledge Tower. Now it is ever-gone in an explosion," Matau explained.

Kumo simply gaped at him for a few moments until a commotion arose from the test track that caused the two green Matoran to run over and investigate. Matau could not believe his eyes. Shooting up and down the track at breakneck speed was another Le-Matoran flying on the moto-sled: the very same vehicle that Matau was supposed to be testing today.

"Hey! I’m supposed to be quick-soaring on that!" he shouted.

"Then maybe you should try not wreck-crashing the next time you wind-fly!" retorted Kumo irritably. The moto-sled slowed down to a stop and its pilot hopped out and ran over to the bickering Matoran.

"Have either of you met-seen Matau today? Toa Lhikan quick-gave me a package to send-give him."

"Yes, that would be me," said Matau, taking the package out of the other pilot’s hands and opening it to expose a bright green stone. Then, after taking a brief look at the foil wrapping, he jumped on to the moto-sled and activated it.

"What do you are you doing?!" cried Kumo incredulously.

"Sorry to quick-run," he said as the vehicle began to gain height. "But the city needs my help." With that, he sped off through the large entrance door for airships and flew off towards the Great Temple. When he was out, he smiled to himself. Not to mention the truth-fact that the Vahki still have my chute pass.
 

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Edited March 17, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 17

"Perfect. Now that we’re all here, we can begin. As you all know, my name is Ahkmou," said the Po-Matoran who seemed to be the leader of the group. "And this is Lewa, the Toa of Air." At the mention of his name, Lewa waved energetically at the thirty or so Matoran before him all sitting around a warm, glowing, orange fire.

"How do we know he’s really on our side?" piped up an Onu-Matoran from the other side of the fire.

"You could just speak-ask me," said Lewa, a little annoyed. "I can listen-hear, you know."

"Uh... sorry" said the dark Matoran gruffly.

"No sorrow-problem!" the green Toa replied brightly. "After I float-came to this island, a Po-Matoran named Bour seek-found me and, after speak-telling Hewkii– who was aid-helping him– that he should quick-leave, he spoke-told me the truth about the Turaga."

"Then why did you battle-fight in Po-Wahi?" asked a Le-Matoran suspiciously.

"But I didn’t battle-fight!" the Toa of Air cried exasperatedly.

"You cheat-lie!" roared the Le-Matoran. "I was there! You wind-blasted me!"

"Enough Makani," said Ahkmou sternly. "Lewa wasn’t trying to hurt you, he was helping you escape. And since you are here and not in the Po-Koro dungeon..." The Po-Matoran trailed off and Makani looked down at his feet with embarrassment. "Well then," Ahkmou continued enthusiastically, "if there is no more doubt as to where Lewa’s loyalties lie, then we may continue with our meeting."

Ahkmou gestured to the Onu-Matoran who had first spoken who then pulled a Lightstone from out of a bag and tossed it to Ahkmou. The Po-Matoran caught it deftly and shone its light onto a crude sketch of the island that had been drawn onto a large, flat boulder with some charcoal from the nearby jungle. All the Matoran leaned in closer to see it better while Lewa had to step back a bit and crouch down.

"This," said Ahkmou, thrusting the Lightstone at the centre of the map, "is our new objective." At the confused silence that followed, he explained. "I plan to take Kini-Nui."

Several gasps of shock and disbelief broke out from the crowd. Even Lewa was a little skeptical about the reasoning behind this plan. Not to be swayed, Ahkmou cleared his throat to get their attention again.

"Our main problem is that we are forced to remain secretive. We can’t get other Matoran to join our cause if they don’t even know our organization exists."

"Well why can’t we just tell them right now?" suggested a Ga-Matoran beside Lewa.

"Do you think they would actually listen to us?" Ahkmou replied rhetorically. "We don’t even have fifty members and we can barely come to meetings like this without fear of punishment. If we had a central base of operations, even some more Toa on our side, then we might be able to convince enough villagers, the Turaga would be overthrown, and then the war would be finally over."

Lewa scratched his Great Miru quizzically. "Is not one Toa-hero enough to battle-win?" he asked.

"Normally it would be, but since Onewa and Nokama have five others fully under their control, if it came to a fight for the Great Temple, we would be severely outnumbered."

"Then what can we do?" asked a Ko-Matoran.

"That’s what I’ve called you all here for," Ahkmou replied, smiling. "If we are to succeed in taking the temple, then we will need more members. All of you need to return to your Koro and try to persuade as many Matoran as possible that the Turaga are wrong and should be overthrown. Be careful and only talk to Matoran that you know you can trust; the Turaga have spies everywhere. The Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran will have an even greater task. From what I hear, there are over two score prisoners in Po-Koro now since the recent battle; try to convince as many as you can to join us."

"Why the prisoners, though?" asked a Po-Matoran.

"Because they are more likely to believe that war is evil, especially after spending several days imprisoned in the hot desert sun."

"Well what can I do?" asked Lewa. "It will be hard for me to whisper-speak to the Matoran with the Turaga notice-seeing."

"That’s why I need you to sway the other Toa."

"But I haven’t met-known them for very long. How will I know who to rely-trust?"

Ahkmou sighed heavily. "Yes, that will be a problem. Most of the time, you may just need to use your own judgment… Although, Bour told me that you might have some luck with Kopaka, the Toa of Ice."

Now it was Lewa’s turn to sigh. Out of the five other Toa, Kopaka was his least favourite. Serious, quiet, and no fun at all; there could not have been two more opposite personalities. However, now that Lewa thought about it, it was more important that the Matoran get to live in peace and freedom than it was for him to make friends with the Toa he liked. "Very well, I shall ever-try my best."

"Excellent," said Ahkmou cheerfully. "Now if there are no more questions…"

"Actually, I have a question," said a gravely voice in the back. "Once the Turaga are no longer in power and the Matoran are ‘free again’, as you say, who will take over?"

The Po-Matoran blinked a few times in surprise. "P-pardon?"

"You heard me," said the voice. "Who will rule the Matoran?"

"I don’t know... perhaps another Matoran."

"A Matoran such as yourself, Ahkmou?" asked the voice with a slight tone of accusation. When the Po-Matoran did not respond, the speaker continued. "It might then seem that this is perhaps not an attempt to do what is right, but simply another grasp for power, making you no better than us Turaga."

"Who are you?" asked Ahkmou, suspicion creeping into his voice.

A figure stepped out from the shadow of the trees. The firelight that reflected off his orange armour, his height, and the bright red staff in his hand made it all too clear who he was.

"Turaga Vakama! Seize him!" Ahkmou commanded. Instantly, the four closest Matoran all jumped towards the Turaga of Fire, but when they touched him, he vanished and they all fell into a heap.

"He must have used a mask to quick-flee!" exclaimed Lewa.

"Then there is no hope finding him now," sighed Ahkmou sadly. "I hope that all of you can still trust me after what he said."

"Of course we do," said another Ga-Matoran.

"Besides," snickered Makani. "What could be ever-worse than a spy-listening Turaga?" The crowd started to chuckle at this remark in relief to the tension and fear only moments ago.

"Thank you, my friends," said Ahkmou once the laughter had subsided. "Now go and complete your assignments. We shall meet again in seven days."

1 000 years earlier...

Apart from being a little shaken from the accident, Nuju had a very restful evening. Even with his Knowledge Tower having been damaged beyond repair, though, he still had to work today. Taking the chute that he took everyday, he arrived at the tower quickly and walked straight up to the two Keerakh guards posted at the door.

"I am here to salvage some artefacts," he announced. There was a slight pause as the pair of Vahki considered this and then stepped aside to let him pass. Nuju nostalgically ascended the once familiar stairs that were now covered in broken bits of crystal, shrapnel, and a thick coating of ash. The tower’s emptiness made it clear that the other scholars had already been and taken their own possessions that could be saved from the wreck. Nuju had not bothered coming early because he knew there would not be much to retrieve since the airship had crashed into his observation deck and so it would have sustained the most damage. Even so, it did not hurt to try.

When Nuju finally made it, he saw that his telescope was now a barely recognizable, twisted piece of blackened metal. In its current state, there was nothing to do but order a new one; knowing the clairvoyant programming of the Keerakh, though, they had probably already done so. Nuju began to sift through the rubble of fractured tablets and broken shelves but it was clear that the crash, explosion, and the loss of the roof had destroyed practically everything.

Just as Nuju turned to leave, he spotted a tablet just out of the corner of his eye. Stooping down, he brushed off some ash and picked it up. The tablet itself was clearly very old, but it did not seem to be as weathered as most of the other tablets he dealt with. Activating his Great Matatu’s telescopic lens, Nuju scanned the stone slab as well as the floor where it had been found and discovered that it had been inside a larger block of stone. Now that he thought about it, though, it made sense because the rock that had once contained it was volcanic– the tablet must have fallen into some lava, been forgotten about, and then written over top of when it had cooled. All the commotion must have caused its black outer casing to crack open and reveal the tablet beneath.

Blowing off some more of the ash and glowing with pride at his perceptivity, Nuju proceeded to look at the tablet’s inscription. Most of it was an ancient language, one that was no longer used on Metru Nui, but some parts of it were pictures of some sort. From what he could make out, they were giant spider-like creatures that seemed to be attacking Matoran. Looking around to see if there were any other similar tablets, the white Ko-Matoran noticed a small foil-wrapped package that said ‘Nuju’ on it. As he bent down to pick it up, though, something happened that caused him to drop the tablet, making it shatter into several pieces.

One of the thick, spiked, blackened vines of the Morbuzakh plant had snaked its way up the staircase and had begun thrashing about trying to take down the entire tower. The vines did not often attack in Ko-Metru, but it seemed that this one was making an exception. Nuju grabbed the package, dashed for the window, and saw that his only escape was a several hundred bio drop onto hard pavement. The air was then filled with a loud crunching sound; he knew that it would not be long until the tower collapsed under the vine’s power. With a final crack, the Knowledge Tower broke, but rather than fall to the ground as he had expected, Nuju found himself hanging from a strange metallic flying machine driven by a Le-Matoran.

"Welcome to Matau’s quick-saving airline. Next stop: the Great Temple!"

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 18

All the Matoran rebels began to disperse, heading back to their separate Koro. Sand was kicked on the fire and the Matoran who had further to travel all hopped onto the backs of the three Gukko that some of the Le-Matoran had ‘borrowed’ from their village. Vohon said his goodbyes to everyone and set off into the black forest once more.

This time through, he went a little more cautiously, for fear that Turaga Vakama might catch him coming back from the meeting; he did not even want to think about the consequences for that. Although he knew his way back home very well (he had spent the past few nights charting it out) he found himself making occasional wrong turns and jumping at the slightest noises. He stopped and looked around for Vakama so many times that his neck had started to hurt. After about the fiftieth stop, Vohon reasoned that even if Vakama was following him, he would no doubt be using his Huna and would therefore be impossible to see. This knowledge was not very comforting, but it certainly made for a faster journey.

When the familiar rumbling sound of bubbling lava started the become audible, Vohon let out a sigh of relief knowing that he was almost there. Sitting down on a stump, the red and yellow Ta-Matoran decided to take a rest before the last leg of the journey. Listening absentmindedly to the sounds from the Lake of Fire while he sat on a burnt stump, he gradually began to hear another noise. It was a sizzling sort of noise– the kind of sound one heard when dropping a rock into the lava or the sound of a tree rapidly being burnt...

Instinctively, Vohon jumped up from his seat just as a blackened tree came crashing down on it. At the base of the tree was a small, Hoto firebug that was giving off intense amounts of heat. Wishing he had had the insight to bring his bident with him, Vohon groped around for a weapon, but only came across a sizable tree branch. True, it was no match for a specially crafted Ta-Koro bident, but since the wood of the Charred Forest made up the handle for the bidents and it could even stand the heat of the lava of the Mangai volcano, it was better than nothing.

"Shoo!" hissed Vohon flailing his stick, trying to scare the insect away. Hoto were a nuisance to life in Ta-Wahi as they tended to cause lots of damage to barracks and guard outposts, but they were easily scared away. The firebug looked up from the log it had just burnt, twitched its red proboscis and scuttled away. Satisfied the danger had passed, Vohon dropped his stick and found himself maskdown in on the forest floor less than a moment later.

Vohon felt his heart rate quicken as he tried to get up, but a weight on his back pushed his Great Kakama further into the black soil. Instantly, he stopped moving and he felt the weight lessen. He lay there on the ground breathing heavily, doing his best not to inhale any dirt.

"Lift him up!" commanded a voice in the distance. The thing on Vohon’s back got off, but just before the Ta-Matoran could get up, he felt a powerful snake-like creature wrap around his middle and pull him up from the ground. Now able to see what was going on, it was clear that the ‘creature’ was actually the tail of a Furnace Salamander– a rather rare, yet rather dangerous Rahi when provoked. Since Vohon had merely been getting rid of a Hoto only moments ago, he could not imagine what he could have done to anger the beast.

There was a slight crunching sound of charcoal as Turaga Vakama stepped out from behind a tree and walked right up to the suspended Matoran and faced him mask to mask. Eyes widening in shock, Vohon began to understand what was going on. On the face of the Turaga of Fire was the Noble Mask of Mind Control– Vohon had no idea how it had got there, but the more pressing issue was that he was trapped by a Rahi under Vakama’s control and the Turaga knew exactly where he had just been.

"Vohon, isn’t it?" said Vakama, as though it was customary to see Matoran being held up by the tails of Furnace Salamanders. "Fancy meeting you here," he continued while pacing around the Rahi whose mind was under his control, saying each word as he took a step.

"Turaga, I-"

But Vakama held up a hand to silence him. "I know why you’re here and I believe you know what the price for leaving the Ta-Koro army."

Vohon’s heart rate increased again. Very early on in the war, Vakama had made it clear that anyone who did not want to fight was welcome to leave at any time as long as they paid the exit fee: their mask.

"However, I have a proposition for you. I will give you a message to deliver to Ahkmou in exchange for your life. Do we have a deal?"

"What’s the message?" asked Vohon suspiciously.

"I was listening to your... organization's plan to take Kini-Nui and I would be willing to offer a hand in exchange for three days."

"Three days of what?"

"I will help you gain control of Kini-Nui and in return, you will give me free reign over the Great Temple for three days."

"I don’t know..." The Furnace Scorpion’s grip tightened and Vakama drew his mask right close to Vohon’s.

"The choice is not yours to make," he said in a low growl. "Just deliver the message to Ahkmou and he will decide what to do. Don’t forget to tell him that he is either with us or against us and that if he is against us, he will not live to see the next full moon."

A tense silence followed, one which Vohon felt that he should break. "So am I free to go?"

"Not quite." Vakama nodded to the Furnace Salamander and began to walk in the direction of Ta-Koro. The Rahi gave a small growl and proceeded to follow him on all four legs, its tail, still wrapped around Vohon, held over its back. Presently they found themselves at the Lake of Fire. Vakama signalled to the guard, who raised the bridge out from the fiery lava and then crossed it with the Furnace Salamander close behind. He continued along past the barracks as dawn rose and stopped right outside Jaller’s office. After rapping on the captain’s door twice with his Firestaff, Vakama stood back and placed his hands behind his back patiently. A few moments later, Jaller opened the door and saluted.

"Captain, I need you to look after this prisoner while I’m away for the next few days."

"Yes sir. Might I ask where you are going?"

"You might, but I wouldn’t expect an answer if I were you," Vakama replied, chuckling darkly. "Just know that if I am successful, any problems we may have had with the Toa will be a thing of the past."

1 000 years earlier...

With several Kanoka disks in his arms, Vakama raced back to his forge, hoping to be able to at least get in some work on the Mask of Time before nightfall. Kalama had been correct, there were indeed some powerful disks at the border of Ga-Metru and Vakama had even been able to talk his way into getting a level seven disk– strong enough to be made into a Noble Mask of Power. As usual, Vakama had tried his best to get a disk of every power available for more combinations, but unfortunately, there were no poison-removal disks left when he got there.

When Vakama reached the heavily dented door of his forge, though, the lack poison-removal Kanoka became the least of his worries. The grey metal door was almost bent in two as though someone had run at it with a battering ram. The mask maker gingerly stepped past the door and was abruptly pulled aside by a strong red and gold armoured arm. Vakama dropped his disks to the floor in shock, where they landed with a loud clatter.

"Vakama! There you are!" hissed Toa Lhikan out of the corner of his mouth, pulling the Ta-Matoran behind the metal cupboard where his robotic mask making assistants, Fire Drones, were kept.

"W-what’s going on?" asked Vakama, his eyes darting all about the room.

"Here, take this," said Lhikan, handing Vakama a package and peering over the top of the cupboard. "The city needs your help."

"Why? What’s going on?"

"The Morbuzakh attacks, the closure of the sea gates, Matoran vanishing mysteriously, and now the Dark Hunters have returned; don’t you see, Vakama? A great evil is approaching and I need your help."

"But how can I help you?"

"Go to the Great Temple and take the package with you, I’ll-" but Lhikan was cut off by a blast of green energy that exploded above their heads. Instantly, Lhikan’s gold Great Hau began to glow and an energy shield formed around them. Lhikan then scooped up Vakama with one arm and in one quick movement that the Ta-Matoran was barely able to follow, jumped over the cupboard just as a large blue ape-like beast charged into it and sent it flying through the wall. Landing on his feet, the lone Toa of Metru Nui set Vakama down on the ground and drew his two Fire Greatswords.

"Ah, brother Lhikan," said a rasping voice from amongst the shadows. "I was wondering when you’d have the courage to face me... alone."

"You seem confused, Nidhiki," retorted Lhikan. "I am not the one who lacks courage and you are no longer my brother."

"Look out!" shouted Vakama, as the creature that had smashed into the Fire Drone cupboard fired a net of energy at him and Lhikan. In another swift movement, the Toa of Fire combined the Fire Greatswords into a flying board and threw them towards a nearby ventilation shaft. On the way there, they caught Vakama in the chest and he was flown off to safety. The last thing he saw before being whisked away through the shaft was the net of energy hit Lhikan, the Toa fall to his knees, the ape-like being sling him over his shoulder then carry him over to a green insectoid creature, evidently Nidhiki, and then the pair of them exit the forge with the city’s final Toa in their custody.

 

Metru Nui was now defenceless.
 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 19

Despite the hot, humid air of the Le-Koro jungle, Matoro pulled his white cloak tightly around himself and shivered. He was not particularly cold, he was just having trouble grasping the changes he had undergone in the past few days. Not too long ago, he had been in control of two Wahi however he had come very close to losing them both not long after. Now he sat, as the ruler of only one Wahi, at the edge of a wooden platform, high up in a tree, looking down at the bubbling Fau swamp below. The tree to which the platform was attached had been aptly named the Graveyard Tree as it was at this tree’s base that fallen Le-Matoran warriors were laid to rest. Earlier, Matoro had attended the ceremony where the casualties of the past battle as well as Turaga Nuju had been lowered into the swamp. During the ceremony, Matoro had made up a story about how Nuju, as a true warrior, deserved to be buried with those of equal bravery to him. In reality, Matoro was just trying to make sure that no one found out how Nuju had really died.

However, Matoro was not sitting at the edge of the Graveyard Tree because of the loss of Nuju. In fact, he could really care less about the Turaga of Ice; all that Nuju had done for him was teach him a next to useless language and isolate him from the other Matoran. The real reason Matoro sat where he sat was because he was thinking about what had happened during his escape from Po-Wahi. He still had no idea who had saved him. There had only been enough light to see that it had been a Ko-Matoran, but Matoro had not been able to see what mask he wore. Unfortunately, so many prisoners had been taken that night that Matoro was unable to tell who amongst the missing Ko-Matoran it had been. Whoever it was, though, Matoro was almost certain they had not survived the Toa’s attack.

"Oh, the prisoners..." Matoro sighed, remembering the defeat once again. At least, he hoped they were still prisoners and not simply food for the Po-Wahi Rahi. Upwards of sixty Matoran had not made it through the hole in the wall that night and there was no word about their fate.

Matoro got up and shook himself. He had worried enough about the prisoners; Matau had seen to that. The Ko-Matoran suspected that Vakama had put him up to it– something to make the Turaga of Air feel like he still had power, but Matoro knew better– because it was not like Matau to yell or get angry. However, the rebuke had not lasted long for Matoro cleverly diverted the inattentive Turaga’s focus to a nearby Brakas monkey. That was something Matoro had started to notice recently: how easily he found it to manipulate others. Nuju, Matau, Takua, all of the Ko-Matoran... it was a bit like dealing with Rahi at times. Hiking up Mount Ihu required a vast knowledge of the behaviour of Rahi; how they ate, how they fought, and just like that Muaka he had encountered before, how to defeat them. The power scared him a bit, but he knew that the only way he would come out on top in this war would be if he used this gift to his advantage.

Off in the distance, Matoro could hear the tune of the Le-Koro musicians suddenly change to heralding horns– someone of importance had just arrived. Knowing that there could only be one being who could arrive right now that merited such a welcome, Matoro dashed off to meet him. He just arrived at the Gukko landing platform as a Gukko flew in with Turaga Vakama on its back. The orange, Noble Huna wearing Turaga descended from his Gukko bird, looked directly at Matoro, and jerked his head in the direction of an empty hut.

"Yes, Vakama?" said Matoro as they entered it and he closed the door.

"Matoro, I have come to talk to you about what happened with the Toa."

The Ko-Matoran let his head fall in shame. Here we go again.

"I do not blame you for the loss– I do not expect any Matoran to win a fight against a Toa," he continued, in an oddly quiet voice.

Matoro stared at him quizzically; something was wrong.

"I do, however, expect them not to have so many prisoners taken when I place them in charge of over half my army!" he roared, sending a burst of flame out of his Firestaff.

Matoro felt himself automatically analyzing how to react. He was trapped in a hut with a crazed Turaga that could easily burn him to cinders and had six Kanohi powers at his disposal; all Matoro had was his cloak and his wits. When small Rahi reacted like this, it was important to show similar aggression, which would usually make them back away.

Will that work on Vakama? he asked himself. Matoro thought back to what he knew about Vakama’s past and figured that it just might.

"Your army?!" he yelled back. "What about all the Ko-Matoran under my-" But before he could finish his sentence, Vakama had swiftly pulled Matoro’s sand blue feet out from under him and sent him crashing to the floor.

"Yes, it is my army, Matoran," said Vakama, suddenly calm and composed. "I gave you some of my best soldiers and they now lie captive in the dungeons of Po-Koro. Without me, you would neither have them nor your Ko-Matoran. Without me, you would still be tied down to that fool, Nuju. Without me, you would have no cause to enter the war– just your own selfish ambition."

A long silence followed as Matoro lay still on the ground, Vakama glaring down at him. The Ko-Matoran knew that Vakama still had some use for him, or else he doubted he would still be alive.

"I will, however, give you an opportunity to redeem yourself. Show me what happened in Po-Wahi was a fluke and that you truly deserve the power I have given you. All I ask is complete loyalty from you and the other Ko-Matoran. Give me that, and I can guarantee that both our Wahi will soon double in size." The Turaga offered his hand out to Matoro. The Ko-Matoran hesitated for a moment and then took it.
 

1 000 years earlier...

It was rather late in the day, but Onewa had finally managed to sweep all the rubble into one large pile (the basin had long since overflowed). The Zadakh had already left, all the larger pieces of rubble having been dealt with, so all Onewa had to do was wait for the Ussal cart that would take the rubble to Ta-Metru to be melted down. On the ground, he saw the note Nokama had written him while he was asleep. Onewa was not sure why Nokama had to go to the Great Temple so urgently, but he supposed she had her reasons– she could not spend all day helping him clean up, after all.

"So Onewa, carved anything interesting recently?" Onewa looked up and saw the sadly familiar brown Rau of Ahkmou. "Oh, that’s right, you haven’t," his rival sneered.

"What do you want, Ahkmou?" Onewa asked dejectedly.

"Just stopped by to bring you your tools," he replied in an innocent tone. "And to give you this," he added slyly, handing Onewa a small package. While the other carver snatched it from him and opened it, Ahkmou continued talking. "Toa Lhikan gave it to me quite some time ago. Said something about it being urgent..."

"You Akilini head!" shouted Onewa after glancing at the package’s contents. "Did you ever possibly consider that there are more important things than competing to see who can make the best carvings or who gets the most work done?!" Ahkmou seemed taken aback at this sudden outburst, but Onewa was too angry to care. "Just get out of my way, I’ve got a chute to Ga-Metru to catch."

Onewa pushed past him, leaving a slightly stunned Ahkmou behind. He just stood there, blankly, watching Onewa run as fast as he could along Po-Metru’s flat terrain to the nearest chute station. A few bio behind him, two large beings ducked down behind an unfinished statue belonging to another carver.

"Do we get him now, Nidhiki?"

"No, Krekka," Nidhiki hissed. "Turaga Dume told us to wait for the new Toa."

"Then I get to smash things?" asked Krekka excitedly.

"Yes, just make sure he stays alive."

Krekka grinned at him stupidly, and the two Dark Hunters resumed their watch on the unsuspecting Ahkmou.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 20

Ever since the arrival of the Toa, life in the two north eastern Koro had never been happier. Precisely sixty four prisoners had been taken from Ko-Koro, Ta-Koro, and Le-Koro, who all now resided in the prison of Leva Bay, located on an islet at the northern tip of Mata Nui. Three battleships, equipped with Kolhii ball catapults and spear-bearing Ga-Matoran, surrounded the prison. Should worse come to worse, a pen of Husi ostriches had been built nearby on the mainland so they could be ridden back to Po-Koro for more soldiers.

Once the prisoners had been secured, the Toa were instantly put to work. Pohatu and Onua, the Toa of Stone and Earth respectively, had been given the task of expanding the wall. Using their elemental powers, they were able to move the many tonnes of dirt and rocks that made up the giant structure outward so that the territory it encompassed could grow. This was done systematically; they would take a piece of wall, about 2 bio long, send it half a kio back, and then the same with the next stretch of wall. It was then up to Tahu, the Toa of Fire, to guard the temporary gaps this created as he had the Great Mask of Shielding.

While work on expanding the wall took place, the remaining Toa– Gali, Kopaka, and Lewa– were working on irrigating the Motara Desert, which took up most of Po-Wahi. It was difficult work and required a lot of instruction from Turaga Nokama, who was supervising, but it gave Lewa the chance that he had been waiting for since the meeting with the pacifist Matoran. Around midday, when Nokama had left for Po-Koro to get something for the Toa to eat, Lewa pulled Kopaka behind a large sandstone outcropping.

"Can you secret-keep?" the Toa of Air whispered.

Kopaka gave him a calculating look and then nodded. Lewa went on to explain how Bour had told him the truth about the war and how Ahkmou had woken him up the other night and asked him to attend a meeting where the plan to take Kini-Nui had been revealed.

"Well, will you join the fight?" Lewa asked when he had finished. Kopaka’s gaze, however, was not on him, but on the outcropping, and his mask was glowing. He then made a gesture with his hand that indicated that Lewa should keep talking while he crept around the stone. Lewa gave him a confused look, but shrugged his shoulders and obliged.

"Still have fear-doubts, Kopaka?" he rambled on in a loud voice. "Well let me speak-tell you about some of the scheme-plans-"

"Aha!" cried Kopaka. Then followed a blast of energy, a flash of light, and a high-pitched scream. Lewa raced around the outcropping and saw, to his dismay, Toa Gali with her arms bound to her side with ice.

"What just quick-happened?" asked the green Toa, looking back and forth from Kopaka to Gali.

"She was eavesdropping," explained Kopaka, pointing his white sword at her. "I spotted her through the rock with my Mask of X-Ray Vision."

"How much did you spy-hear?" Lewa asked worriedly.

"No, you misunderstand," said Gali quickly. "I came to see where you were and then I overheard-"

"Kopaka, we have to quick-stop her from telling the Turaga!"

"Don’t! I’m on your side!" she cried, struggling to free herself from her icy prison.

Kopaka looked at Lewa, who shrugged back. "Let her speak-talk. If she isn’t false-lying, we will ever-need her help."

The Toa of Ice shattered the ice around Gali with his sword, but did not lower it afterwards. The blue Toa hugged herself and shook off remaining pieces of ice. Lewa pointed his own weapon, a green axe, at her as well in case she decided to escape. Gali ignored them and began to explain.

"Ever since I emerged from my canister, I felt like something was out of place on this island. In the dreams we all had, there was a shadowed creature that fits the description of the Makuta from the Turaga’s legends. If I’m not mistaken, our task involved him, not this war."

"But don’t the Turaga’s legends say they defeated him nearly one thousand years ago?" asked Kopaka.

"Well, Nokama and Onewa’s do, but the Turaga have told so many lies that I’m not even sure they remember the truth anymore," said Gali sadly.

"He must have been fought-beaten," said Lewa slowly. "If he wasn’t, he would have shadow-ruled Mata Nui long ago."

"But then why did we have dreams about him if it wasn’t our duty to defeat him?" asked Gali.

"The Great Spirit!" said Kopaka suddenly. The other two Toa turned to him, their eyes beginning to widen with realization. "Makuta put Mata Nui to sleep, didn’t he? Right before destroying Metru Nui..." Kopaka continued. "If the Turaga already defeated Makuta, then it must be our destiny to rescue Mata Nui."

"It all makes logic-sense now," said Lewa. "If we can halt-end the war, then we can work on awakening the Great Spirit."

"How do we do that?" asked Kopaka, placing his sword point down on the sand and leaning miserably on it. "Didn’t you say the pacifist Matoran had fewer than 50 members? How can 3 Toa and such a small army even hope to come close to capturing Kini-Nui, let alone end this war?"

"We’ll figure something out, brothers," said Gali. "As long as we remember the three virtues– the real ones and not the lies Vakama tells his Ta-Matoran. Unity, duty, destiny– it’s our destiny to save Mata Nui at all costs."

"Do you think the others will help-join us if we tell them this?"

"No, I don’t, Lewa," replied Gali sadly. "Pohatu is too loyal to the Turaga, Onua has been blinded by their lies, and Tahu is too focused to see that the war is wrong. I don’t even think they even care that this war ‘started’ over the Onewa and Nokama telling the villagers about Metru Nui."

"Great-wise they may claim to be, but they did not put much effort-thought into their reasons for war-fighting," said Lewa, shaking his head in pity.

"Well if we can’t expect help from anyone else, our only option is to try to convince the prisoners in Leva Bay to join our cause," said Kopaka. "But we will have to be secretive– the Turaga must not learn of our plan." The three Toa nodded in assent and an empty silence followed. Lewa suddenly became aware that he and Kopaka had lowered their weapons during the conversation, but that did not matter to him; their was no doubt in his mind that Gali was someone who he could trust.

"We should probably quick-run back to the work site in case Nokama suspect-fears anything," said Lewa looking up at the sun, after it was clear there was nothing else to be said. As they walked back, he could not help but feel hopeful that peace would soon come to Mata Nui.

1 000 years earlier...

Safely attached to his pet Rahi hawk and with two flying Rorzakh Vahki escorts, Makuta, still under the guise of Turaga Dume, landed in Ta-Metru. The small, red figured leaped down from his faithful Nivawk and patted one of the creature’s scythe-like talons, its beak being to high to reach. The black Vahki landed on either side of him and transformed into walking mode. With a nod from their master, the two mechanized bodyguards followed him. It was not long until they reached the forge of Vakama the mask maker. Makuta’s eyes flickered to the crumpled metal door that hung loosely from his hinges and he smiled to himself.

The Dark Hunters have done well, he thought, stepping into the workshop. It is a shame they will not survive for their payment.

Inside, he saw a crimson Ta-Matoran sitting miserably at his designing desk. The whole room looked as though it had just survived a Kikanalo stampede. Makuta chose to ignore this, already knowing what had happened, and approached Vakama quietly from behind. The mask maker did not notice him and pulled out a small package and began to fumble with it. He opened the wrapping and a ruby red stone rolled out of it onto his desk.

"Lhikan... the last of our Toa... and it’s all my fault," Vakama sighed, looking at the stone.

"It’s not your fault," said Makuta kindly, in an effort to appear more like the real Turaga Dume. "Being a Toa was Lhikan’s duty, not yours." At the sound of his voice, Vakama jumped and quickly hid the stone under its wrapping.

"Turaga, I didn’t hear you come in."

Makuta ignored him. "I have come for the Mask of Time."

"I’m sorry, but it’s not quite finished," Vakama replied hurriedly. "A mask that can control time will no doubt take a lot of work to-"

"Perhaps you are not using the right disks," said Makuta, interrupting him.

"I use the strongest quality available," he said. "Only the Great Disks are more powerful, but without Lhikan..." Vakama trailed off.

Makuta knew very well the Matoran legends about the six strongest Kanoka disks in existence and how they had been hidden around the city in places only Toa could venture. After Vakama became a Toa himself, just like Makuta had planned, the Mask of Time would soon be his. Toa were like that; they would always try their hardest to please their Turaga or the Matoran they protected, never realizing when they were walking straight into a trap.

"Bring me the mask before the great contest," the false Turaga instructed. "And do not fail me, Vakama; the destiny of Metru Nui rests in your hands." Turning to leave, Makuta chuckled inwardly.

And once I have that mask, little Matoran, everyone’s destiny will rest in mine.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 21

As the sun set over Le-Wahi, Turaga Vakama prepared for another nighttime prowl. He tested his Suva by switching, in turn, to his other five Noble Kanohi, but then switched back to his Huna. After making sure his Firestaff was well polished and worked smoothly, he checked to see there was no one around, activated his Noble Mask of Concealment, and crept out of the thatch hut he stayed in when visiting Le-Koro. The five musicians set to play for the first half of the night were currently playing a soft tune with three low-pitched flutes and two marimbas, but other than them and Vakama, the rest of the village was asleep.

The Turaga of Fire headed towards a wooden ladder at the northern edge of the village, and proceeded to climb down it into the Fau swamp below. As long as he stayed near the tree roots and checked the ground in front of him before walking, he would not be in any danger of being trapped by the swamp’s murky sludge. As soon as Vakama reached the bottom of the ladder, he switched to his Ruru and activated it, sending the whole swamp into broad daylight, but only to his eyes. It was so dark that were he to encounter a Kuna bog snake or any other deadly swamp Rahi, he might as well be wearing his Huna. Progress was slow, as Vakama was not quite sure where he was going and he kept tripping over the dense underbrush.

Finally, nestled in the gnarled roots of a large tree, he found what he had been looking for. In one of the darkest parts of the swamp, where it would have been normally impossible to see without a Ruru, was a small tunnel, the exact kind of tunnel Vakama had been looking for. It was close enough to Le-Koro to be useful, and its entrance had been expertly built so that none of the swamp water could pour over the lip and into the tunnel itself; this was an Onu-Matoran spy tunnel.

For as long as anyone could remember, Whenua had always harboured an intense dislike towards the Le-Matoran. Throughout all their years together, though, the other Turaga had never been able to learn why. Vakama knew this as well as the others and had always suspected that the Turaga of Earth had been spying on the southernmost Koro, but before he had gotten the Ruru, he had never been able to prove it. Were it not for the recent arrival of the Toa, Vakama would have half the army down that tunnel in a heartflash, but circumstances being as they were, he had no time for a surprise attack on Onu-Koro; besides, he still had a use for them.

Vakama made his way over to the tunnel and looked inside. His Noble Mask of Night Vision allowed him to see its smooth stone walls easily, but it also showed him that it extended for several kio. Regardless, he stepped inside and went down the steep incline that led to the main tunnel’s floor. Having no intention to go to Onu-Koro on foot, Vakama placed his ear on the ground and thought back to a trick an old friend had taught him centuries ago. After listening intently for a few seconds, he straightened up, pointed the top end of his Firestaff at the ground, and channelled his elemental Fire energy through it. Against the hard, earthy tunnel floor, Vakama’s power did little damage; all that happened was that the tunnel had started to fill with smoke, just like he had planned. The light of the Firestaff made it bright enough for Vakama to no longer need his Ruru, so as he continued making smoke, he switched to his Komau– he would be needing it soon anyway. After a few minutes, the ground began to shake, so Vakama reduced his Firestaff to a dull glow, took a few steps back, and waited.

When the shaking reached a point that seemed as though the whole cave was going to collapse, a giant sword-like claw, easily as long as Vakama’s entire body, shot up from the ground. This was then followed by three similar claws and then the shovel-like snout of a Blade Burrower burst from the ground, sending bits of earth and stone flying everywhere. The behemoth sniffed the air a bit and then crawled out of its newly dug hole. Vakama issued another blast of smoke from his Firestaff and the Blade Burrower’s head whipped towards him as though he were magnetic. Evidently intrigued by smell of the smoke, the sniffing Rahi crept closer to Vakama with a slight air of apprehension.

In a flash, Vakama activated his Noble Komau and took control of the Blade Burrower’s mind. It struggled for a bit, but it soon fell under the mask’s power. Not wasting a moment, Vakama hopped onto its back and urged it forward along the tunnel, using his Firestaff to light the way. After a fairly uneventful trip through the tunnel, the Rahi and its rider soon came to the underground village of Onu-Koro. As the soft, yellow glow of the Lightstones grew brighter and the sharp pinging sounds of Onu-Matoran bashing mining tools against rock became louder, Vakama dismounted the Blade Burrower and sent it back to its home with a final command from his mask. Switching back to his Noble Mask of Concealment, Vakama vanished from sight and headed for Turaga Whenua’s hut.

As he walked across the bridge that spanned the underground river that ran through the village, he was almost run over by an Onu-Matoran wearing a black Pakari that was riding an Ussal Crab at top speed. Clasped in his tan coloured hands, was a stone tablet with a message written on it. Seeing that they were heading towards Whenua’s hut, Vakama hurried after them, hoping to overhear the message’s contents.

"Turaga Whenua!" cried the messenger, leaping off of his mount without stopping. The Turaga of Earth opened the door to his hut and was almost bowled over by the Onu-Matoran as he was carried by the Ussal’s momentum.

"What is it, Taipu?" asked Whenua. The Onu-Matoran braced himself against the wall to catch his breath and Vakama drew up beside them, still invisible.

"I was scouting one of the eastern caves with Onepu," said Taipu, handing the tablet over to Whenua as he spoke, "when a party of Po-Matoran riding on the backs Husi rode up to the entrance and said they had a message. Onepu told me to accept the message and that he’d run back for help if it was a trap. So I went out and they just gave me this tablet and left. I came back as fast as I could."

Whenua looked down at the flat, beige stone and then back up at Taipu with a worried expression. "Surrender?" he said in disbelief. "What have we ever done to them?"

"Don’t ask me. Maybe they made a mistake," suggested Taipu, shrugging. "Well, that’s all, Turaga. Onepu asked me to get Dosne and Mamoru to lead the mining guilds in blocking up those caves, so I’d better get going."

"Of course," said Whenua, looking back down at the tablet. As Taipu got back on his Ussal Crab and sped away again, Whenua melancholily went back into his hut and closed the door. Checking that no one else was around, Vakama opened the black Turaga’s door himself and stepped inside.

"Who’s there?" asked Whenua sharply. After a moment’s pause, he turned he head sideways in confusion. "Vakama?"

"Excellent guess, my old friend," chuckled Vakama, becoming visible once more.

"‘Old friend’, huh?" he scoffed. "That’s not what I remember you calling me the last time we spoke."

"Yes, well I’ve come to apologize for that," said Vakama, shutting the door behind himself.

"Have you now?" said Whenua skeptically, looking up the tablet again.

"Originally, no, but overhearing your current situation, I think I can help you."

Whenua looked up at Vakama suspiciously and said nothing.

"In a few days time, a group of rebel Matoran plans to take over Kini-Nui. I have offered to help them in exchange for control over the temple for three days. Not long from now, Matoro and I will be meeting with their leader to negotiate the finer details."

"What could you possibly want with-"

"Whenua, do you remember those experiments you did before becoming a Toa?" asked Vakama, cutting him off.

"With the Bohrok? But you... you can’t be serious!"

"I am very serious. With an army of Bohrok under our control, the six Toa will look like Protodites against a Tahtorak."

"Our control?"

"If you’re interested, that is. I need your expertise with Bohrok and all your Onu-Matoran engineers and miners to pull this off in three days."

"Do you remember the answer I gave you nearly two centuries ago?" asked Whenua, angrily. "Because it remains the same. I will not fight a war alongside Le-Matoran."

"Even if it means surrendering your Wahi to Onewa, Nokama, and their Toa pawns?"

"Better them than those greedy, selfish, worthless-"

"Enough, Whenua. I have already spoken about it with Matoro. If you join us, we will help you get revenge on ever single Le-Matoran alive. Do we have a deal?"

"You’d betray your oldest allies just to get me on your side?" asked Whenua in disbelief.

"What use are allies when you have Bohrok?"

"Very well Vakama, I accept your deal, just be sure not to be so ready to get rid of me when it suits you," laughed Whenua, slapping the orange Turaga on the back.

Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be ready for that at least until I have the Bohrok under my command, thought Vakama as he left Whenua’s hut, turned invisible, and headed back to Le-Wahi.

1 000 years earlier...

Vakama walked up to the Great Temple in awe. Although this majestic building had stood in Ga-Metru for centuries and he had seen it several times, its architecture and mystery always amazed him. Red stone in one hand, map in the other, he took a deep breath and entered the temple. The suns had set quite some time ago and there were few Lightstones inside, but that did not matter, for Vakama’s stone had started to glow with a dim, red light. After following the map for several minutes, he soon came to a group of four Matoran (a Ga-Matoran, a Ko-Matoran, a Le-Matoran, and an Onu-Matoran) standing in front of the temple’s Suva.

"Did any of you actually see Lhikan when you got your stones?" asked the Ga-Matoran. Everyone shook their heads and muttered about getting them passed along from their colleagues.

"Excuse me!" cried Vakama to the group. "But did you say Lhikan gave you stones?"

"Another one?" asked the Ko-Matoran as Vakama ran up to them.

"Does anyone know what they mean?" he asked.

"No, we’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on ourselves," said the Ga-Matoran. "By the way, I’m Nokama and this is Whenua, Matau, and Nuju," she explained, pointing to the Onu-Matoran, the Le-Matoran, and the Ko-Matoran respectively.

Off in the distance, Vakama could hear loud stamping and panting. He turned around and saw a Po-Matoran running as fast as he could into the Suva room. In his hands, Vakama noticed were a map and a glowing stone.

"Onewa?" asked Nokama incredulously. "You got a stone too?"

"Has Lhikan invite-called the whole city to come here?" asked Matau sarcastically.

When Onewa joined them, the carvings on the side of Suva lit up and started to glow. Vakama looked down at the stone in his hand and saw that its glow had intensified as well. Nokama approached the Suva cautiously and placed her stone in a niche marked with the symbol of Ga-Metru. The stone stuck fast and the light coming from the Suva intensified. Seeing that this was the right thing to do, the other Matoran followed her and placed their stones in the niches designated to their own Metru. A beam of light shot up from the top of the domed device and Lhikan’s Great Hau swam into view.

"Save the heart of Metru Nui from the ever-nearing shadow. Prove your worth and fear not, the Great Spirit will show you the way," it said, before it glowed even brighter and shot six beams of energy at them. The Matoran all fell to the floor and felt their limbs lengthen, their armour thicken, and their masks fill with power. When it was all over, they could see quite clearly that they were no longer mere Matoran, they were now Toa.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 22

Captain Jaller looked down from the window of the second floor of his office (where he slept and kept all his personal effects) at the ever growing pile of Madu Cabolo coconuts that was accumulating in the south west corner of the main courtyard. According to the Le-Matoran messengers, Matau and the other two Koro leaders had learned of a siege that the Po-Matoran were planning on Ta-Koro. As was such, Matau was sending all available forces to Ta-Koro so it could be defended. He had also sent more resources for Jaller’s Gukko piloting lessons, such as two dozen more Gukko as well as three new instructors. Day after day, Le-Matoran kept pouring into the village fortress, bringing with them as many bamboo throwing disks and Madu Cabolo as they could carry. Under the guidance of Ambassador Tamaru, they were put to work collecting wood from the Charred Forest and strengthening the outer walls.

Normally Jaller would have been overjoyed at having more soldiers to defend Ta-Koro, but something was troubling him. It had been days since Turaga Vakama had left and the only news the captain had received from him was in the form of a stone tablet delivered by one of the Le-Matoran that simply told him to continue with the Gukko training and that everything would be revealed shortly. If there was going to be a siege, Jaller felt that he should know as much as possible about what Vakama was planning as it would no doubt be crucial to his battle strategies. He and Tamaru had spent several long nights with the topographical map of the island on the ground floor of his office planning for Po-Koro’s attack. The main issue was that they did not know where the invaders were coming from. It was most likely that they would come through the neutral zone that spanned from the Ta-Wahi beach all the way up to Naho Bay harbour. However if they used Ga-Matoran ships, they could attack from the eastern coastline as well. After they had laid out a rough strategy, Jaller and Tamaru had decided to wait until more information was available.

Climbing down the ladder to the ground floor, Jaller decided that he would get a team to add some more mud to the Madu Cabolo pile to prevent them from accidentally detonating. He walked over to one of the barracks beside Turaga Vakama’s hut, where he knew there would be some idle Ta-Matoran suitable for the task. On his way there, he passed by the building that held the Wall of History as well as the dwelling of the Chronicler. Jaller decided that the coconuts were in no immediate danger of going off and that he had enough time to see how Takua was doing. He knocked on the wooden door and Lumi the medic opened it.

"Captain Jaller, welcome," said the Ko-Matoran, bowing his white Hau slightly.

"Good day, medic. I just came over to check on your patient."

"Well, his legs haven’t healed very much, but he’s starting to become more functional as time goes on."

"Functional?" asked Jaller, looking over at the sleeping form of Takua on the other side of the room.

"Yes, the pain and shock of the situation have caused him to become a bit delusional."

As if on queue, Takua started moaning. "No, let go of me! I didn’t kill them! It’s not what you think!" He then rolled over and was silent again.

"Just like that," said Lumi, sighing in pity. "I think he’s reliving parts of his mission to collect the Toa Stones. Do you have any idea who he’s talking about?"

Jaller shook his head, but inside, he had his own theories. Vakama had already told him about his plan to get Takua to collect the other Turaga’s masks as well as how Takua had been the main reason for the death of Turaga Nuju. From what Jaller had heard, it was unlikely that murder was the Chronicler’s intent nor was it likely that he even knew the Turaga of Ice had perished not long after his attack.

Taking a life of another being was a hard thing to do. Despite the length of the war, there had been very few casualties, that was because every Turaga knew that a life lost was one they could not rule. The few Matoran who had died were mostly just accidents, even Jaller himself, Captain of all of Ta-Koro’s forces, had only ever killed four Matoran. Being tougher than most, Jaller was not too affected by it, but there were some soldiers that had been unable to fight for years because of what they had seen. Gazing back at the Chronicler’s fitful sleep, Jaller wondered how the shock of what he had done would affect him. No matter how adventurous and battle-loving Takua was, up until Nuju, he had never killed anyone. Sometimes Jaller envied him for that and wished that he could go back and redo it all.

"I’d better be going," said Jaller after a while. Lumi nodded, and began mixing some herbs together, presumably for Takua’s injuries. Jaller closed the door softly behind himself and walked straight for the barracks, setting his thoughts back on the Madu Cabolo. Just as he raised his fist to knock on the wooden door of one of them, it flew open to reveal Lieutenant Keahi standing stiffly at attention.

"At ease Lieutenant, I’ve got a job for you and the rest of the Matoran in this barrack," said Jaller. Keahi saluted, bringing a hand up to his yellow Noble Rau and then back down to his side, but stayed standing just as stiffly. Jaller ignored this and explained about the Madu Cabolo. Everyone left to carry out his orders immediately, but Keahi stayed behind.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked.

"Of course," replied Jaller, slightly annoyed at the lieutenant’s overzealous formality.

"The other Matoran of the barrack and I were wondering what happened to Vohon, it’s been days since we’ve seen him and-"

"He has been detained, and as you know, Keahi, information pertaining to prisoners is given out on a need-to-know basis."

"But sir, as a high ranking officer, I just thought that I should-"

"Sorry, Lieutenant, just following orders," in a tone that hinted that Keahi was dismissed.

Evidently unsatisfied with what he had been told, Keahi hurried off to join the rest of the Matoran, all the while unsuccessfully hiding a scowl on his face. If there’s a limit for trying to have too much duty, Keahi has definitely passed it, said Jaller to himself, sighing. The lieutenant’s question had, however, made him decide to check on Vohon; perhaps he could answer some of the questions that had plagued Jaller’s mind lately.

Jaller returned to the entrance of his office, but rather than going inside, he took a small, metal key tied to a flax string around his neck and put it in the keyhole of the door to his left. The lock clicked, he went inside, and descended the stone steps down into the dungeons. Jaller came to a long corridor lit by the orange light of a small lava stream that flowed underneath the Village of Fire. The stream cut from one side of the corridor to the other, leaving a constantly flowing barrier of molten rock that was too wide to jump across between the prisoners and the door. A slightly unnecessary precaution, in Jaller’s opinion, but as long as it kept the prisoners in, he did not care.

On the wall at the stream’s edge was a sizable metal switch that controlled the bridge. Jaller gave it a pull and a miniature version of bridge into Ta-Koro emerged from the lava. He crossed it and made his way to the cells at the end of the corridor.

"Oh my," said Vohon sarcastically as he noticed Jaller’s approach. "It appears the mighty Captain of Ta-Koro has come to visit me. I must record this moment on the Wall of History so I may cherish it forever."

Jaller gave him a cold glare.

"What do you want?" asked Vohon rudely, getting up from the stone bench in his cell and walking up to the bars that separated him from Jaller.

"I wanted to know why you are doing this."

"The resistance? Why shouldn’t I do it? The Turaga are evil, why can’t you see that?"

"The others, perhaps," said Jaller. "But Vakama is just carrying out the will of Mata Nui, how can that be evil?"

"The will of Mata Nui?" Vohon replied incredulously. "How can it be Mata Nui’s will for Matoran to be slaughtered, for the six peoples of this island to be divided, or for innocent Matoran, such as myself, to be held captive."

"You’re not innocent," laughed Jaller dryly. "Vakama caught you conspiring with a group of other Matoran to overthrow him."

"But he is evil! If I’m guilty of anything it’s not trying to stop him sooner." When Jaller shook his head in disbelief, Vohon gave a long, weary sigh. "Of course you can’t understand. You’ve been given a position of power and you choose to ignore the terrible things that Vakama does. He would murder an enemy, an ally, or even just an innocent Matoran in an instant if he thought it would give him more power. You’ll learn this someday, Jaller, but by then, it will be too late. Now go back to your precious Vakama, I’m very busy being imprisoned at the moment."

1 000 years earlier...

"Are you familiar with the legend of the Great Disks, Ahkmou?" asked Nidhiki.

"Who isn’t?" the Po-Matoran laughed.

"Krekka!" said Nidhiki, giving his partner a look. The powerful being grabbed one of Ahkmou’s arms and twisted it behind his back. The small Matoran gave silent screams of pain as Nidhiki drew his green head level with Ahkmou’s Noble Rau. "I already warned you about not answering properly. Are you familiar with the legend of the Great Disks, Ahkmou?" he growled loudly. Ahkmou’s head bobbed up and down rapidly and Krekka released him.

"The six most powerful Kanoka on the island, each hidden in a different Metru, right?" said Ahkmou, massaging his shoulder.

"Correct. There are also six Matoran on this island that have discovered their locations, and you are one of them."

"No I’m not, I don’t even-"

"Krekka!" This time Ahkmou’s other arm was twisted behind his back. "Rule number two, Matoran: don’t lie to me."

"Okay, I know where it is!" he gasped in pain. He was once again released, but did not dare to move a muscle for fear of upsetting the two Dark Hunters any more.

"The Great Disks are the key to saving your city from the Morbuzakh vines. Get all six of them and bring them to me so that I can keep them safe."

"Even if they do exist, they would be priceless. Why should I do this for you?" Nidhiki turned his grotesque head to Krekka, but before he could command his partner to tear off one of Ahkmou’s legs, the Po-Matoran interrupted him. "Never mind, never mind, I’ll do it just because you’re such good friends," he said hurriedly.

"Don’t worry, Matoran, you will be compensated," said Nidhiki, motioning to Krekka with one of his claws that it was time to leave. "The stone tablet I gave you will tell you which Matoran know the disks’ locations, just watch out for the new Toa Metru– all six of them."

"Six?" said Ahkmou, as the two Dark Hunters skulked away.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 23

Turaga Onewa placed no guards in Po-Koro, reserving them only to guard the wall surrounding the Wahi. By his logic, his only worries were enemies breaking into his precious domain. Never did he dream that he would have to worry about his allies breaking out. This oversight made it all the easier for Kopaka, Gali, and Lewa to escape that evening. Their other Toa brothers quickly fell asleep after a long day of expanding the Po-Wahi wall, which now fully encompassed Naho Bay and was starting to encroach on Ko-Wahi and Onu-Wahi.  So after checking that no Matoran were watching, they snuck out.

They ran quickly across the cool nighttime desert sand, with Lewa behind them summoning a breeze to cover up their footprints. Soon they came to the north wall and scaled it with ease; Lewa with a strong updraft and his Great Mask of Levitation, Kopaka with footholds of ice, and Gali with her hooks and agility. Once on the other side of the wall, the shore being far enough away from the wall so that at high tide it would not collapse, the three Toa did not have far to walk. They waded in up to about their knees in the cold ocean water and Kopaka made a small boat for them out of ice. He then erected a thick mast on which he added a crude curving sail. Gali gave the boat a light kick to test its durability and spoke for the first time since they had left.

"Not bad at all Kopaka," she said, running her hands over the craft as though to check for imperfections. "Even as a Toa of Water, I’m pretty impressed."

"Are you ever-sure you’re not a Ga-Matoran in disguise?" chuckled Lewa.

"Just get in," said Kopaka wearily, pushing Lewa into the boat.

The three Toa then set off for Papi Nihu Reef, where the rebels were planning on meeting again. Working together, they were able to travel very quickly. Lewa sent gusts of wind into the sail, Gali, using her Great Mask of Water Breathing, pushed from behind, and Kopaka saw to the boat’s structural integrity. It was not before long that they saw other Matoran making pilgrimages similar to their own. Some flew on the backs of Gukko birds, but most of them came in boats like them. Using the telescopic lens on his Great Akaku, Kopaka was able to see a glowing, orange fire on one of the rocky islets that filled the area, on which were already several Matoran.

Finally arriving, they disembarked to a roar of applause and cheering. Some of the Matoran, clearly overcome with joy at Lewa’s successful recruiting of two Toa to their cause, rushed over to them and embraced his shins (the rest of him being too tall to reach). Lewa turned his head to Gali, who was wiping water off of the visor of her transparent blue Kaukau.

"You can be quick-next if you want," he said, winking. Gali, however, responded by squirting water at his mask. Spluttering, Lewa urged the Matoran to let go of his legs and start the meeting. A fresh log was thrown on the fire and everyone gathered around Ahkmou as he prepared to speak.

"As you all can see, our ally Toa Lewa has successfully been able to bring two more Toa to our side." Cheers broke out in the crowd again, but Ahkmou motioned for silence. "Although this is a small victory, we still have much further to go if we wish to finally overcome the Turaga, and from what our information suggests, the war is only going to get worse. Our Onu-Matoran friends tell us that the Po-Matoran are forcing them to surrender their homes. Meanwhile in Ta-Koro, Le-Matoran keep coming delivering mountains of Madu Cabolo. We must act now and seize Kini-Nui before they are able to exact their plans. They must not-"

But before he could finish, the crowd’s attention was drawn to a black shape flying through the sky towards, silhouetted dramatically against the moon. It soon landed and by the firelight, they were able to see that it was a Gukko bird upon which had ridden a small yellow and red Matoran.

"Vohon?" said Ahkmou in disbelief. "But didn’t Vakama imprison you? How did you escape?"

"Vakama just... let me go," he replied, as though he was barely able to believe what was happening himself.

"He what?"

"He showed up at sunset and told me to hurry off to our meeting, but that it would be in my best interest to deliver a message to you."

"What’s the message?" asked Ahkmou sharply.

"He says he will help us if we give him Kini-Nui for three days," replied Vohon quickly.

"But what could he possibly want with the temple for only three days?"

Vohon shook his head to signify that he had no idea. "That’s all he told me. He says that he’s planning to meet with you tomorrow night at Lake Pala. Come with guards or alone, he says he doesn’t care."

"Well," said Ahkmou slowly, after thinking quietly for several moments. "I think I shall meet with him– accompanied of course," he added, nodding at Kamen and Bour on his left and right respectively. "However, we have other things to discuss at his meeting, such as the prisoners of Leva Bay. Kamen?"

Brown masked Matoran stood up and addressed the crowd. "Ahkmou was right, the prisoners are indeed getting desperate. I haven’t revealed myself to them yet, for fear that they might try to betray me in exchange for their freedom, but I have a feeling that if we rescued them, they might change their minds. And we shall need to rescue them soon if we hope to take the temple– even with Vakama’s help. This won’t be easy, though we-"

"What do you mean?" asked an Onu-Matoran in the front row. "Couldn’t the Toa do it easily?"

"If they want to reveal themselves to be traitors, maybe," retorted Kamen coldly.

"No, we have to do this," said Gali quietly. All eyes in the group turned to her in surprise.

"What about your cover? The element of surprise?" asked Ahkmou.

"There are good, able, thinking, feeling Matoran who are trapped and suffering in that prison! I can’t believe that you’re willing to trade their good being for military strategy. Tell me," she said, turning to Kamen, "when was the last time the prisoners were fed?"

"They... haven’t been," he muttered.

Gali looked around at the group and Ahkmou sighed with defeat. "Very well, you may rescue the imprisoned Matoran. Take them around to the coastal foothills of Ko-Wahi– I think they’ll be safe there. If any of you can, try to bring supplies down there and set up a bit of a camp for them. We’ll meet again three days time– now off you go." Everyone began to leave and Ahkmou smothered the fire, adding under his breath, "and Mata Nui protect us all."

1 000 years earlier...

"This– this is impossible. We’re Toa!" exclaimed Onewa.

"But how can this be?" asked Nuju, examining his new form.

"Well, I’m not clear-sure, but I guess-think it might have something to do with those Toa Stones and the energy-light," said Matau facetiously. Nuju glared at him.

"Hey, look at this!" cried Whenua, motioning for them all to look at the Suva. They could all see that a compartment had opened inside of it, bearing several Toa tools. Once they had each chosen tools for themselves, Onewa found a stash of six Kanoka disks, each bearing an image of one of their Masks of Power.

"This is it," said Vakama, taking the disk that bore his Great Huna from Onewa and placing it in his new Toa tool disk launcher. "This means that it’s our destiny to be Toa." The others around him swelled with pride and smiles grew behind their masks.

"Who was it that saw Toa Lhikan last?" asked Nokama, after a few moments.

"That would be me," said Vakama, sighing heavily. He told them all of the Dark Hunters’ attack and how Lhikan had sacrificed his freedom to save him.

"Did he tell you anything before he..." Nokama trailed off uncomfortably.

Vakama opened his mouth to tell her, when he suddenly saw a shadowy landscape right before his eyes– it was the ruins of Metru Nui. Darkness filled the sky and bits of buildings crumbled to the ground as tens of thousands of years of civilization was destroyed. Then, with a brilliant flash of light, everything was restored to its former beauty. Vakama was then forced to duck as six Kanoka disks shot at him and unleashed their energies on the Morbuzakh vines. A quick glance at the power level written on them told him that they were the Great Disks of legend. All six Kanoka then merged together into one, and then just as abruptly as it had begun, Vakama was once again back in the Great Temple, with the other five Toa staring at him.

"Well then," said Onewa, "I think I can spot the crazy Toa on our team."

"I– I had a vision!" stammered Vakama, ignoring him. "Metru Nui was decimated, but then brought back. And we– the Great Disks! We need to find them! They’re the key to defeating the Morbuzakh and saving the city."

"Amazing, Vakama, I’ll quick-call the Chronicler now," said Matau, rolling his eyes.

"I trust Vakama’s vision, it may very well be a message from the Great Spirit," said Nokama. "Besides, finding the Great Disks would help us prove our worth– like Toa Lhikan said."

"Legends say that there is a Great Disk hidden in each of the six Metru," remarked Whenua. "It shouldn’t be too hard for a few new Toa to find them all."

Vakama then saw six Matoran before him– like how he had seen the ruined city– that were all holding the Great Disks. "Nuhrii, Vhisola, Ahkmou, Ehrye, Orkham, Tehutti... they can help us find the disks."

Onewa gave a loud sigh. "Alright, I’ll help, but only for Lhikan, not because I trust you."

Well, thought Vakama wryly, it’s better than nothing.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 24

Laying her spear on the side of the ship, Commander Kotu leaned over the railing and stared dreamily out at the night sky. The little silver flecks of light that were stars reflected onto the black, glass-like surface of the water surrounding the ship. With the new slew of prisoners from the re-capture of Po-Wahi a few weeks ago, Kotu had been promoted to head Matoran of the Leva Bay prison. With three ships and a sizable army of Po-Matoran under her command, it was clear to her that she was on the right side in this war.

Her gaze drifted lazily to the Red Star making its mysterious journey across the sky, perhaps off to complete another constellation and thus another prophecy. Kotu looked down at its reflection in the water again, which had started to ripple. She then noticed two yellow stars in the water, but to her knowledge, there were no yellow stars over the island of Mata Nui...

A dark shape with glowing yellow eyes leapt from the water and clung onto the side of the boat, causing the Ga-Matoran commander to shriek with fright. She quickly collected herself and scrambled for her wooden spear. The figure pulled itself up over the side and stood nearly three times Kotu’s height, dripping with water, and staring down at her. The overall effect was very sinister, but Kotu thought she recognized the stranger.

"Toa Gali?" she whispered in disbelief. The dark figure nodded and stepped into the moonlight. "But what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," said Gali sadly, "there is much that is wrong."

"Are we needed in battle? I’ll sound the alarm right away!"

"I come bearing a message of peace," Gali explained, "but if you choose to resist me, there will be a battle and you shall lose."

"I don’t understand."

"Matoran were meant to live together in peace, not war. You know the true virtues: unity, duty, destiny. How can we honour them if we are constantly fighting one another?"

"But if we don’t fight, then Vakama will surely enslave us all! You know that, don’t you?" said Kotu, grasping her spear uncomfortably.

"It doesn’t have to be like that," said Gali calmly. "If you join our rebellion against the Turaga, there won’t be any war. You can all live freely."

"What about my rank? My power?"

"Is that really more important than your freedom?"

"So if I join your rebellion," said Kotu slowly, "all Matoran, even myself, will be equal, with no one more powerful than anyone else?"

"Exactly!" said Gali happily, clearly glad that Kotu was starting to understand.

"Then I’m really sorry, Toa Gali," said Kotu, reaching for a conch shell inside her pack, "but I like my power." She blew into the shell three times and cried, "to arms to arms! The Toa are attacking!" The next thing Kotu knew, Gali had picked her up and thrown her into to ocean. Several splashes around her told her that the rest of the crew was having no better luck at subduing Gali either.

On board, Gali had drawn her hooks and was firing short, harmless blasts of water at any Ga-Matoran who dared oppose her, unsuccessfully trying to sway them to her cause. No matter what she tried to tell them, how evil the Turaga were or how many benefits there were to living without them, they simply kept on trying to defeat her. When the boat was empty, she used her elemental control over water to moor the boat on the short of the islet prison and wait for Lewa and Kopaka to finish taking over their ships as well.

It was not long until Lewa’s ship came by next to hers, equally empty, and then for Kopaka’s to arrive, which was also empty save for two shivering Ga-Matoran, who looked more frightened than ready to fight for independence. Gali leaped agilely onto Kopaka’s ship and shook her head giggling in spite of herself. "You were supposed to convince them to join us, not scare them to death." Kopaka shrugged indifferently. Crouching down to their level, Gali smiled kindly at the two Matoran. "If you don’t want to join us, you can leave whenever you want." Without a moment’s hesitation, they scrambled to their feet and jumped overboard.

"Oh well," said Lewa, floating down to them with his Miru, "I always thought that water-types were always weak-soft."

As he landed, Gali tripped him with a sweeping kick from behind. "Funny, I’ve always thought the same about air-types."

"Alright you two," said Kopaka as Lewa got to his feet again. "We’ll need to pick up the pace if we’re going to free those prisoners by sunrise." Securing the ships to the barren islet, they disembarked and marched right up to the two spear-bearing Po-Matoran standing guard at the gate to the large, stone walled prison fortress.

"State your business, Toa," ordered one of the guards.

"We come bearing a message to all Matoran," said Gali.

The two guards had a quick, whispered discussion and then turned to face the Toa again. "Very well, you may proceed," said the guard as they both lowered their spears.

Lewa, Kopaka, and Gali entered the gate with the two guards behind them and saw a terrible sight. The prison was a circular building with metal barred cells all around it that went up three levels. In the centre of it all, there was a courtyard lit by tiny luminescent Lightfish in glass containers that held a building for the wardens’ quarters as well as something that made Gali gasp in disgust. Cruelly placed in plain sight of every single cell was a large collection of food and fresh water that looked as though it had never been touched.

"So why didn’t commander Kotu escort you here?" asked the second guard, clearly trying to make conversation.

"She was... occupied," replied Kopaka in a steely voice.

"Alright then," said the first guard, ushering them to a stone pedestal beside the wardens’ quarters, "let’s hear your message."

"Matoran of Leva Bay," began Lewa in a loud voice, "we quick-come tonight to bring-tell you good news."

"We three Toa come representing a peace movement and we invite you all to join us. Together we shall be able to overcome the-"

"Hold it right there!" said the first guard, pointing his spear threateningly at Gali. "I’ve heard about all this freedom nonsense from that Kolhii-head Ahkmou and if you think I’m going to give up my-" Before the guard could finish his rant, Kopaka blasted him with a beam of ice.

"Kopaka!" cried Gali reproachfully.

"I’m sick and tired of this," he said. "We’re offering you freedom, which is a lot more than you can say about Vakama, Nokama, or any other of the Turaga. Come with us or not, I don’t care. Either way, this islet is going to be deserted by sunrise."

Having nothing else to add, the other Toa went to free the prisoners. With their enhanced Toa strength, it was a simple matter for them to break the locks with their bare hands. The prisoners all rushed out into the courtyard cheering and hastily helped themselves to the food, having, of course, not eaten for several days. All the guards and prisoners were then put onto the three ships, which the Toa piloted to the mainland and offered those unwilling to join their cause a chance to leave. Most of the guards left, but some stayed behind, which the Toa found encouraging. Unfortunately for them, though, several of the prisoners decided that they would be better off making their own ways back home. Reluctantly, the Toa let them go as well, but by the end of it all, they were left with an army numbering of nearly three score.

The boats were sailed to the camp off the coat of Ko-Wahi, where the Toa were greeted by a very strange boarding party. Ahkmou, Kamen, and Bour stood on the beach, cheering the Toa along with the rest of the crowd, who had arrived to help the newly freed Matoran off the ships, but flanking them were Vakama and Matoro. The three Toa immediately leaped from down from their decks into the shallows and marched swiftly over to Ahkmou.

"Ah, Toa, congratulations on a successful mission," he said, grinning broadly. "Allow me to introduce Turaga Vakama and Matoro, our newest allies."

"Not entirely, Ahkmou," said Vakama smoothly. "We are only ‘allies’ until I am given access to Kini-Nui."

"Very well," replied the Po-Matoran, still smiling, "but I think that there might still be hope for you two."

"Whatever," said Matoro in a bored voice. "By the way, you might want tell your Le-Matoran friends to stay clear of Ta-Koro for a few days."

"Why?" asked Ahkmou, his smile beginning to fade.

"You’ll see."

1 000 years earlier...

The six Toa Metru split up in search of the Matoran seen in Vakama’s vision. Whenua, the new Toa of Earth, made his way down into the Archives in search of Tehutti the Onu-Matoran. Now that he was a Toa, Whenua was finding it difficult to endure the stares of his former co-workers. No one would believe that he was once Whenua the archivist, which made his progress into certain areas rather difficult. More than once he had been forced to flee when a guard threatened to call the Rorzakh, the Onu-Metru Vahki, and if they arrived, Whenua would have no chance of escaping. It hurt him that the Matoran were so unwilling to trust or believe him, after all, he had given up his old life to protect them, but then again, Metru Nui had a history of untrustworthy Toa.

Making his way through the Archives, Whenua started to notice several strange things. Many of the exhibits’ stasis pods were damaged, but luckily none had gotten free, and he kept finding clues that suggested that Matoran from other Metru had been there. True, the public was allowed to view some of the Archives’ living exhibits, but with Tehutti nowhere to be seen, it was starting to look a little suspicious. The trail of clues soon led him to the lowest level of the Archives. The darkest bowels of Onu-Metru housed the exhibits too dangerous to be on display to the public, and as Whenua saw a shattered stasis pod and heard a savage hissing screech behind him, he knew he was about to find out why.

Out from the shadows stepped the black and white, hunched, skeletal, spike-backed form of a Rahkshi. No one knew exactly where they came from, only that when provoked, they could get very nasty. All Rahkshi had unique powers and judging by the colouration of the Rahkshi before him, Whenua guessed that this one had the power to make cyclones. Instinctively drawing his two new Earthshock Drills, Whenua prepared for battle. The Rahkshi hissed again and started forming a massive cyclone.

"Well," said Whenua to himself, "I might as well learn how to use my elemental powers some way or other." Concentrating his all willpower, Whenua felt out to the earth beneath his feet. It felt different now, as though it were a part of him. He could sense its movements, even move it himself. With a great heave, he pulled a huge mound of earth up to his waist. The Rahkshi unleashed its cyclone, but it was unable to move Whenua. Screeching with anger, it ran over to him, which was when Whenua sprang his trap. As fast as he could with his newly developed powers, Whenua opened and closed a small fissure in the ground, trapping the Rahkshi’s overlarge feet. As it tried to free itself, Whenua removed the dirt encasing his own legs and went off in search of Tehutti once more.

Maybe being a Toa’s not that bad after all, Whenua thought to himself. Of course, he would have probably felt differently if he could have seen the Rahkshi free its feet and start following him.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 25

A jet of hot steam blasted Matoro’s mask. Coughing, he removed his white cloak and began to wipe the soot off the lenses of his Great Akaku.

"Vakama?" he choked. "Is it really necessary for us to meet in a chamber of the Mangai volcano?"

"It is vital," said Vakama, leaning calmly on his Firestaff.

"So is tonight the night, then?" asked Turaga Whenua eagerly. "The night Le-Koro falls?"

"It is," said Vakama patiently. "But certain preparations must be undertaken in order to make the affair run seamlessly." He reached into his robes and pulled out a silver Noble Komau, which he handed to Whenua. "I’m trusting you to return this when you’re done with it."

"Yes, yes," said Whenua quickly, removing his powerless Noble Ruru and placing the new Kanohi mask upon his face. "This is for Matau, then?"

"Indeed," said Vakama, a small smile forming on his face. "For our armies to remain loyal, there must be no doubt that our intentions are pure. Certain Matoran fail to understand working for the greater good. You both, I trust, remember the plan?"

"Of course," said the small, black armoured figure of Whenua, barely much taller than Matoro, who merely nodded. "I will control Matau like a puppet and make the Ko-Matoran and Ta-Matoran believe that he wishes to betray them. They will then turn on the Le-Matoran and deliver them into my hands."

"But are you sure can he really be controlled by just a Noble Komau, Vakama?"

"Using the Mask of Mind Control is a battle of wills, Matoro," explained the Turaga of Fire slowly. "Matau is a fairly weak-minded individual, but he may need some... persuasion."

"Persuasion?" asked Matoro, apprehensively.

Vakama reached down and grabbed the handle of a bident whose now glowing orange tines had been left near a pool of magma. "Yes, persuasion," he said, handing the weapon to Matoro. "And I would very much like you to do it."

"I don’t understand."

"The body and the mind are very well connected," explained Vakama slowly. "Hurt the body and you can hurt the mind. And as a Turaga of Fire, I would not know this, but I am told that burning armour and flesh hurts a lot."

"You want me to torture him?! You can’t be serious!" cried Matoro, looking at Whenua for support, but the Turaga of Earth did not seem at all to be bothered by this news, in fact, he even seemed a little more cheerful.

"But I am serious. Leadership is a question of how far you are willing to go and how you choose to deal with obstacles. Turaga Matau is an obstacle. How far are you willing to go, Matoro?"

Matoro’s light blue eyes darted from Vakama, to Whenua, to the glowing bident in his hands. He took a deep breath and looked Vakama in the eyes. "As far as it takes."

"Excellent," smiled Vakama. "Whenua, get in position. Matoro, you stay here while I fetch Matau. In a short matter of time, the island of Mata Nui will be a very different place."

Dusk fell as the two Turaga and the Ko-Matoran prepared for the evening’s events. Vakama and Whenua positioned themselves near the front of Ta-Koro’s main courtyard, behind some old crates, where they would be unseen by the crowd, yet would have a clear view of Turaga Matau. A slightly shaken, quieter Matoro ushered a twitching, gibbering Matau into the empty stone courtyard (all the soldiers occupying Ta-Wahi were outside on the nearby beach, under Captain Jaller’s command, for a mandatory training session). Matoro, who looked like he was having trouble swallowing, shoved Matau over to the other two Turaga.

"Well done, Matoro," said Vakama, patting him on the back.

Whenua grabbed Matau by the shoulders and stared directly into his crimson eyes. Matau gave a few spasms, as though he was trying to resist Whenua’s mind, but after a few moments, he went limp.

"There," said the Turaga of Earth, panting slightly. "He is fully under my control."

"Then may the fall of Le-Koro commence," said Vakama darkly.

Under Whenua’s orders, Matau went out to the beach and called in all the soldiers. The Ta-Matoran and Ko-Matoran were to return to their barracks, while the Le-Matoran and Jaller were told to congregate in the main courtyard. Once the courtyard was filled with green-armoured bodies, along with the red and yellow one of Jaller, Turaga Matau positioned himself at the podium, with Jaller on his left and Kongu on his right. The Turaga of Air cleared his throat and began to speak in Whenua’s words.

"Gathered Le-Matoran, I have called you all here for a momentous occasion. Perhaps you have been wondering why every Le-Matoran on the island has been brought to Ta-Koro over these past few days. Tonight I shall tell you."

In the nearby shadows, Vakama nudged Whenua lightly in the arm. "Try to add more Treespeak," he muttered. "Matoro, alert the lieutenants. Tell them to gather the armies up on the battlements silently and make sure they’re not seen." Matoro left without a word and Whenua resumed his control of Matau.

"It was nearly two hundred years to this day that we ever-forged an alliance with the Ta-Matoran," the mind controlled Turaga continued. "Perhaps it is fitting that today is the day we shall finish-end it." Several gasps broke out in the crowd along with confused muttering. Jaller took a few steps back, clutching his bident in dismay. "And may Captain Jaller be the first to die-fall!" cried Matau.

The spinning blade on his Kau Kau staff revved to life and he lunged at Jaller, who quickly blocked it from slicing open his head with the handle of his bident. Matau, who was a head taller than Jaller, kicked him in the chest, sending him flying off the raised platform and skidding along the cobblestone floor of the courtyard. With a screeching snarl, Matau pounced on him, but Jaller was ready and held up the tines of his weapon defensively. Matau, who was already in midair, was unable to stop himself and was impaled upon Jaller’s weapon, one tine going through a gap in his chest armour the other piercing his heartlight. Panting hard, Jaller pushed the lifeless Turaga off of him and rose to his feet, the hundreds of eyes of the Le-Matoran watching him in stunned silence.

"Well done, Captain," said Vakama, emerging from his hiding place behind the crates. "You have saved us all from what would surely be a terrible battle. However, the Le-Matoran’s treachery will not go unpunished."

Now it was Kongu’s turn to step back in dismay. "Turaga! We never plan-helped Matau in this ever-bad treachery!"

"Lies!" roared Vakama. "Your people’s punishment shall be enslavement to the Onu-Matoran!"

"The Onu-Matoran?" cried Kongu in fear. "They anger-hate our people! You quick-send us to our doom, Vakama!"

"Unity, duty, manifest destiny," said Vakama simply. "Tonight Le-Koro shall fall."

"Never!" bellowed Kongu, pulling out a bamboo throwing disk. "Le-Matoran! We must quick-leave Ta-Koro or perish-die trying! We shall not be-"

But Kongu’s rallying cry was cut off by an expertly thrown bident that had impaled itself in straight through the eye-holes of his Great Miru, killing him instantly.

"Does anyone else want to try escaping?" called Lieutenant Kalama from the battlements. The Le-Matoran all looked around, shocked to see that they were surrounded, then gradually they lay down their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

"Lieutenants!" cried Vakama to the battlements. "Get your soldiers to shackle every single Le-Matoran in this courtyard. If any resist, kill them." As Vakama turned to leave, an entirely red Matoran wearing a red Great Miru rushed up to him.

"Turaga! There’s been an attack!"

"By the Le-Matoran, Agni? Yes, I’m well aware of that," said Vakama in a strained tone.

"No, no, no! A Ga-Matoran has breached the walls and broken into the Wall of History!"

"What?" said Vakama, given Agni his undivided attention.

"I was patrolling the village when I heard a commotion from the Chronicler’s quarters. I looked inside and saw a Ga-Matoran savaging Lumi. I quickly captured her and took her down to the dungeons."

"What about Takua?" asked Vakama.

"There was no sign of him. I think he may have been kidnapped!"
 

1 000 years earlier...

Toa of Earth were not meant to fly! thought Toa Whenua angrily as he nearly collided into the wall. He had eventually found Tehutti, but the archivist had been buried under a pile of rubble and old artefacts. Just as Whenua had started to sift through them, the Rahkshi had snuck up behind him and blasted him with another cyclone. On the bright side, the swirling vortex had lifted off the detritus that was pinning Tehutti down and had freed him, but he was so scared of the Rahkshi that he merely backed into a corner. As Whenua flew around the room, he looked around desperately for a means of escape. The swirling made it too hard to use elemental powers and he had no idea what his mask power was, let alone how to use it. Finally, his eyes fell upon Tehutti and he got an idea.

"Fire your disk at the Rahkshi!" he cried. Most of the Matoran on Metru Nui carried around Kanoka disks for sport or defence and Tehutti was no exception. Having been an archivist along side him, Whenua knew that Tehutti usually carried around a Kanoka of teleportation and was hoping that it would be enough to beat the Rahkshi. "Tehutti!" Whenua cried out again, when the Onu-Matoran had made no obvious efforts to help.

"But I-"

"Just do it!"

Closing his eyes, Tehutti pointed his disk launcher in the general direction of the Rahkshi and fired. By some miracle, the Kanoka hit it and teleported it away. Without the Rahkshi to sustain the cyclone, Whenua came crashing to the ground and Tehutti came over to him.

"So you’re a new Toa, then?" he smirked.

"Oh, you can tell?" groaned Whenua, getting to his feet. "So tell me, what exactly were you doing down here under all that rubble?"

"Some four-legged green thing attacked me and asked for the Great Disk I found, but when I wouldn’t tell him where it was, he fired something out of his mouth and brought down all that stuff on me."

"So you do know the location of one of the Great Disks," said Whenua in surprise.

"Well, yeah. Why?"

"The Great Disks might be the only things to save Metru Nui from the Morbuzakh. Come on, we have to go meet the other Toa Metru."

"Fine," sighed Tehutti. "I suppose I do owe you for saving me."

"Actually," said Whenua slowly. "We need to stop by my old office for a bit. There are some... experiments I’d like to check on."

 

Review Topic

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 26

The bright, blue noon sky over Po-Koro shone almost tauntingly out of the window carved into the curved stone wall of Turaga Onewa’s hut. The tan armoured Turaga stared longingly at it, his own dark blue eyes portraying a clear desire to be outside. His gave a long sigh and turned away from the window only the meet the stern, orange eyed gaze of Turaga Nokama.

"Ah, Nokama," he said, slightly surprised. "I did not hear you come in."

"I would not expect you to," she said coldly, "not over that disorderly band of Matoran and their rubbish you call a bazaar right outside."

"It isn’t disorderly!" said Onewa defensively. "Those are good Po-Matoran soldiers bringing us treasures they salvaged from our last raid on Onu-Koro. I even saw Pekka with three crates of Lightstones– three crates!"

"Wonderful, Onewa," she said indifferently, "but we have a war to win and in case you’ve forgotten, it recently got a lot harder for us to do that."

"What do you mean?"

"The Toa, you Kolhii-head!"

Onewa frowned with a puzzled look on his face.

"I’m sorry," Nokama sighed. "Sometimes it’s just so– I just want to– I really-" She trailed off and growled in frustration.

"Hordika," said Onewa softly, nodding his head understandingly. He waited for a bit while Nokama regained her composure and then said, "so what is this about Toa?"

"You must have heard rumours by now."

"I have," he replied, "but I was not sure if they were true. So Lewa, Gali, and Kopaka have truly left us, then?"

"Yes," sighed Nokama.

"But why?" groaned Onewa. "This is so unfair! We brought them to shore, told them the truth about Metru Nui and the three virtues, which is a lot more than we can say about Vakama."

"Perhaps you have not heard everything, then," said Nokama. "Commander Kotu told me that before she was thrown from her ship by Toa Gali, the latter tried to recruit her for some sort of rebellion against us."

"Against Po-Koro and Ga-Koro?"

"No, against all the Turaga. They think that they can overthrow us and put Mata Nui at peace once more."

"But that’s exactly what we want!" exclaimed Onewa. "With the other Turaga out of the way, we will be able to rule the island unopposed and then there will be no more need for this war."

"I know, but they refuse to listen."

"Then we must make them!" said Onewa, crushing a small rock on the ground with his Stone Hammer for emphasis.

"Go right ahead, then," spat a sarcastic voice from the shadows.

The two Turaga whipped around to see Ahkmou, wearing his black Noble Rau, standing at the back of the room. He strutted over to them and folded his arms, gazing up at them with a daring look in his eyes.

"Ahkmou?" said Onewa. "Shouldn’t you be-"

"Fighting in your war, building statues in your honour, selling stolen goods? That’s what I’m here to talk to you about today, Turaga. A good handful of Matoran and I have decided we’re tired of your way of running things. So you can either you can surrender now or we shall make our stand."

Onewa stared at him for a few seconds in disbelief and then burst out with several great barks of laughter. "Us surrender to you? I could kill you where you stand."

"Like I said before, go right ahead, then."

Snarling with rage, Onewa swung his Stone Hammer high in the air and brought it crashing down through Ahkmou’s head. Ahkmou, however, did not even flinch. In fact, he seemed completely unharmed.

"Last chance," Ahkmou warned. "Either surrender to us or we shall destroy you."

Too stunned that Ahkmou was still alive, Onewa stayed where he was, his mouth slightly open in shock. Nokama, however picked up her own badge of office, a blue trident, a charged straight at the Po-Matoran. Ahkmou merely blinked as the tines of her weapon pierced through his chest.

"What is this madness?!" cried Onewa.

"An illusion," said Nokama, testing her theory by running her hand through Ahkmou’s mask. "But then that means..."

"That I’ve allied myself with the Ta-Matoran. Yes, yes I have. Thanks to the Noble Mahiki that Vakama stole from the late Matau, I was able to pull this off. I regret your choice not to surrender, but you have been warned. In two days time, the resistance shall move to capture Kini-Nui, which shall hereafter be a safe haven for all free Matoran. After that, it will only be a matter of time until we are free from your tyranny forever. Until then, we leave you with a small parting gift."

With that, the form of Ahkmou vanished without a trace, leaving behind two startled Turaga. They stood there in silence for a few moments until the sound of a conch shell filled the air. They glanced at each other for a brief second and then rushed outside to see who had sounded the alarm only to see Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka in the process of ransacking the entire village. Kopaka was causing large, intricate statues of Nokama and Onewa to explode using blasts of ice; Gali was flooding the sand inside the desert village, turning the ground into mud; and Lewa was sending the plunder in the bazaar flying kio away with huge gales of wind.

"Stop this! Stop this now!" ordered Onewa, with a hand on his mask to prevent it from being blown away by Lewa.

"No, Turaga," said Kopaka, causing a rather vigorous explosion of a large archway dedicated to the Turaga’s greatness, "you had your chance."

Onewa stood there stammering at disbelief at the destruction that was being caused. Po-Matoran ran about the village in panic, trying to rescue their homes and possessions from the Toa’s desolation. Nokama, however, was able to keep her head and turned to the nearest shopkeeper who was trying desperately to stop his Husi pecking bird from being blown away.

"What’s your name, Matoran?" she yelled, trying to make her voice heard over Kopaka’s many explosions.

"Ally, ma’am" he replied, bringing a tan hand up to his brown Noble Ruru in salute while restraining his pet Rahi with the other.

"Quick, Ally! Ride out into the desert and alert the other Toa!" Nokama commanded.

"No need!" Ally yelled back. "They’re already here."

Sure enough, a jet of flames from Toa Tahu shot straight for Gali, who doused them with a blast of water. Standing framed in the gateway were Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu, eyes blazing and elemental energy dancing at their fingertips. Pohatu stomped the ground and sent a tidal wave of stone over to Kopaka, knocking him clean off his feet.

"Attack the Village of Stone and you deal with me, traitors!" cried Pohatu. Kopaka fired a few counter blasts of ice as he leaped back to his feet, but Pohatu had already activated his Great Mask of Speed and dodged them with ease.

Lewa continued destroying the bazaar, prompting Onua to active his Mask of Strength and run charging at him like an enraged Kane-Ra bull. The Toa of Air tried to leap nimbly out of the way, but Onua caught him by the foot in his claws and threw him to the ground. Onua moved in to finish him off, but Lewa whipped up a small sandstorm, temporarily blinding Onua, giving him a chance to get back on his feet. He tried to swipe at Onua with his axe, but the black armoured Toa deflected it with his claws.

Meanwhile, Tahu had activated his Great Mask of Shielding, making it impossible for Gali to hit him with any blasts of water. His Firesword ablaze, Tahu forced Gali back into a corner. As soon as Gali’s back hit the stone wall surrounding Po-Koro, she immediately launched a powerful stream of water straight at the ground, sending a torrent of mud up into the air. In the confusion, she slipped around Tahu’s shield and blasted him full force in the back.

As Kopaka and Pohatu’s battle continued destroying large pieces of masonry, Turaga Vakama and Ahkmou presently stepped out from behind Turaga Onewa’s hut.

"It would appear that we have overstayed our welcome," he announced mildly as a nearby hut exploded into thousands of tiny rock fragments. Ahkmou nodded to Lewa, who immediately abandoned his fight with Onua and rushed over to pick up the resistance leader along with Vakama. He then activated his Miru to help him soar over Po-Koro’s wall with the two beings under his arms. Dodging attacks from the other Toa, Gali and Kopaka quickly followed. Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu made to follow them, but Nokama held up a hand to stop them.

"Let them run. We will have our revenge in two days time. Alert the troops," she told Ally. "Tonight we march for Kini-Nui!"
 

1 000 years earlier...

Toa Onewa’s Proto Piton Toa tool dug into the side of the immense stone statue as he clung to it for his life. The ground was a good seven bio away and Onewa was pretty sure that not even his new Toa armour would protect against a fall like that. His arm was beginning to ache; he needed to dig his other Proto Piton into the rock face as well before gravity tore his arm off. He took a deep breath and then swung his other arm up, driving in the Proto Piton firmly. Stopping to plan out his next move, Onewa hung swinging from both his Proto Pitons, feeling fairly stupid.

"Come on, Toa!" cried the voice of Ahkmou from on top of the statue. "Is that the best you can do?"

Empowered by the taunt, Onewa forced his tired muscles to pull him to the top. Progress was painfully slow as he was only able to climb a short distance at a time. Had he not have been chasing Ahkmou ever since he had left the Great Temple with the others, Onewa was sure that this climb would not be nearly as arduous. From what he had heard, all the other Toa Metru had already met up with their Matoran and were preparing to meet back in Ga-Metru.

It probably helps that their Matoran didn’t need to be hunted down! he thought to himself angrily as he neared the top.

Finally, Onewa’s Proto Pitons reached over the top edge of the colossal monument. As he made to pull himself up, though, he heard a gleeful cackle and saw Ahkmou pointing a loading Kanoka launcher at him; Onewa, though, had had enough. Using his elemental powers, he sent a stalagmite flying out of the statue and caused it to knock the disk launcher right off the edge. Ahkmou made a vain grab for it, but it slipped through his fingers. Onewa pulled himself up over the edge and lifted the Po-Matoran into the air by his arm until he was at eye level.

"I’ve had just about enough of this, Ahkmou," he said, glaring straight at his captive. "Either you help me find the Great Disk or I’ll drop you."

"Great Disk? You know me, Onewa, I’m just a simple carver, I don’t know what you’re-"

Onewa made as if to drop him and Ahkmou screamed.

"Okay, okay! I’ll help you."

The Toa Metru of Stone smirked at Ahkmou’s terror. Hopefully that’ll be the last bit of trouble I get out of him, he thought to himself. As they began to make their descent, neither of them saw the two Dark Hunters standing at the bottom by the remains of Ahkmou’s disk launcher, watching them closely.

"He lied to us!" grunted Krekka, clenching his fists.

"You’re surprised?" said Nidhiki dryly. "Ahkmou is a coward, he just thinks he’s found someone more powerful to hide behind."

"What about the disks?"

"Don’t worry, Krekka, they’ll be ours soon enough."

 

Review Topic

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 27

He was high up in the air, soaring above the clouds. Wings flapped and pulled him onwards, the ground was a white and brown pock-marked blur below him. Suddenly, Ice Bats swarmed around him and attacked him with Madu coconuts. His armour was turning blue as the Madu juice covered his body. Then he was attacking Nuju, trying to switch his mask. But how long had Nuju worn a Hau? There was no time to worry about that, he had to escape, but his legs were hurting so badly...

Turaga Vakama’s orange Noble Huna swam into view. His light green eyes were twin slits of fury. "Keep her locked up!" he commanded. "I’ll question her tomorrow when I return from Po-Koro. In the meantime, Captain, I want you and your fifty finest soldiers escort the Le-Matoran slaves to Onu-Koro. Give the Onu-Matoran your full cooperation and once all the Le-Matoran are all secured, head for Kini-Nui along with the team of miners Whenua has allotted us."

"Yes sir!" said a voice he could not see.

His vision began to fade again as two strong Ta-Matoran grabbed him by the arms and dragged him off. He struggled feebly to escape, but he was gradually losing consciousness and still there was a stabbing pain in his legs. The last thing he knew, he was thrown in a cell and then everything went black.

"Where is he?" growled an unseen voice.

Takua’s eyes started to refocus again, but the pain in his legs did not dissipate, in fact, his head had started to hurt as well. Glowering over him was Turaga Vakama again, his eyes blazing so intensely, Takua felt as though they might burn him. He tried to ask what was going on, but all he could manage was an incoherent mumble.

"I’ll ask you one last time, Ga-Matoran," said Vakama, his voice rising, "what have you done with the Chronicler?"

Takua stared at Vakama for a few seconds in utter confusion. "I’m sorry, what?"

Vakama looked taken aback, as though Takua had just said a terrible obscenity. The Turaga of Fire then peered at Takua very closely without blinking. Takua merely sat awkwardly on the rough ground of his cell as Vakama stared at him intently.

"Takua?" he said, after what seemed like ages.

"Uh... yes?" said Takua uncertainly.

"What has happened to your armour?" asked Vakama, leaning on his Firestaff.

"I– what?" Takua looked down at his arm to see that it was as blue as it had been when he had been in Ko-Koro, causing him to nearly jump in the air.

How can this be? he asked himself. The Madu juice has been gone since Kini-Nui, but...

He looked up at Turaga Vakama once more. "How long have I been unconscious?"

Vakama explained that it had nearly been three weeks since Takua had summoned the Toa from Kini-Nui and had his legs damaged. Throughout that time, Takua had been delirious and feverish while Lumi had looked after him. As Vakama spoke, Takua looked back down at his blue armour and nodded slowly as he took in all the information.

"Now you need to answer my question," said Vakama when he had finished. "Why is your armour blue?"

"I have no idea," said Takua truthfully, rubbing his arm absentmindedly. "I– I think I was dreaming about Ko-Koro, when I-" but suddenly Takua stopped and looked down at his arm. Again, he brought his hand back and forth over it and was amazed to see his armour instantly turn from blue to red. "Turaga, what is this?"

Vakama started at Takua thoughtfully once more. "Chronicler, I am not sure what this power you possess is, however, I would like you to keep it a secret between the two of us. Now return your armour back to normal."

Takua nodded and closed his eyes tight in deep concentration. Slowly, his blue armour faded to being red and yellow once more.

"Now come," said Vakama, opening the cell door. "If you are to chronicle one of the greatest battles of our time, you will need to hurry." Takua scrambled to his feet, but immediately fell down again, wincing them in pain. "Ah, yes. Lumi warned me that your legs might have been damaged at Kini-Nui." Vakama began to leave Takua’s cell.

"Wait, Turaga! What will happen to me?!" cried Takua in a panicked voice.

"The Onu-Matoran have donated one of their Ussal Crabs to us. A female one named Pewku, I believe. She will act as your legs from hereon in."

"What is this battle, though?" asked Takua, feeling relieved that he was not doomed to a life of immobility.

"The turning point in this war," said Vakama, a look of pride in his eyes.

"But you said the Toa-"

"I did, Takua. But when we lost them to the Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran, I realized that there was another way to win the war– a better way. As Chronicler, I’m sure you remember better than anyone the tales of when I was a Toa Metru."

"I do, Turaga," said Takua.

"On our journey up to the island of Mata Nui, through the tunnels that led to the city of Metru Nui mio below us, we found many strange creatures. Of course, once we finally rescued you all from the ruins of Metru Nui, all those tunnels were sealed– all except one. Our armies are heading out right as we speak to reach Kini-Nui and claim it so that a team of Onu-Matoran miners can get inside and seal that last tunnel."

"Why all this trouble to seal that tunnel?" asked Takua. "Are Nokama and Onewa planning on returning to Metru Nui?"

"Of course not, that would be suicide," said Vakama, sighing slightly. "That entire island is infested with Rahkshi, it was Makuta’s last attempt to stop us. If anyone were to set foot there, they would be killed immediately. No, the real reason that cave must be sealed is because of the Bohrok."

"Bohrok... I think I remember those," said Takua. "You found a whole chamber of them underground, didn’t you? And then you had a vision where you saw legions of them destroying the island! Vakama, you can’t possibly-"

"The power to destroy an entire island!" said Vakama forcefully. "With the Bohrok under my control, the war would be over within days." Vakama turned to leave once more. "I shall inform Agni to bring you Pewku, and remember, Chronicler, tell no one of your secret."

1 000 years earlier...

Onewa was sure that he and Ahkmou would be the last pair back to the Great Temple. They were forced to get to Ga-Metru on foot, for fear that Ahkmou would try to escape, as he had not long after they had climbed down from the colossus. A well aimed blast of elemental energy from Onewa had stopped Ahkmou just before he caught a ride on a Vahki transport. With his feet encased in stone, Ahkmou had no choice but to listen to Onewa’s frustrated lecture on worrying about others.

"I mean, you can’t go about life only thinking of yourself, Ahkmou," he said. "If the Matoran don’t look out for each other, they can’t get any of their work done. That’s two of the virtues right there: unity and duty."

"Yes, yes, virtues, that’s great.  Now can we hurry along to meeting up your Toa friends?" said Ahkmou hurriedly, looking around wildly as though Turaga Dume had just announced that hungry Lohrak had been let loose.

"Oh, so now you feel like cooperating?" said Onewa sceptically. "What’s wrong, have the Vahki just found out what a slimy liar you are?"

"Just set me free and I’ll tell you!" cried Ahkmou frantically.

"Nice try," scoffed Onewa. "There is no way on Metru Nui that I am letting you go without-"

Onewa was cut off as a green bolt of energy flew crackling over their heads.

"Then again," he laughed nervously, as he shattered the stone Ahkmou’s feet and scooped him up onto his back, "I think I could be persuaded."

More bolts of energy flew past them as Onewa ran in search of a hiding place. They soon came to a collection of broken statues that were being prepared to be sent to Ta-Metru to be melted down. Onewa slid through a narrow gap between two of them, which he then blocked by creating a large boulder, and then he continued running. Once he was certain that he had lost Nidhiki, he let Ahkmou off his back.

"Okay, so what’s going on?" asked Onewa, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

"That’s Nidhiki, he’s trying to find out where the Great Disks are hidden," Ahkmou explained.

"Well, considering the fact that he’s still after you, I have a feeling you haven’t told him. Now let’s go before he catches up," said Onewa. The rest of their journey to the Great Temple was fairly uneventful. Onewa spent most the time talking to Ahkmou about how Matoran should fulfill their destiny by working in harmony. Ahkmou said nothing but merely nodded every few seconds; he just seemed to be glad to be free of Nidhiki.

When they arrived at the Great Temple in Ga-Metru, they found out that they were only second last back; Whenua and Tehutti had not yet showed up. They eventually did arrive a few hours later with Whenua muttering something about 'last minute research'. Reunited once more, the Toa Metru began to tell each other about their adventures finding the six Matoran. Vakama told how he was held up for ages by Kalama at the reclamation yard and was only able to get in when a giant vine of the Morbuzakh plant had smashed through the fence.

"The vines are getting worse," said Vakama gravely. "We need to find those Great Disks as soon as we can."

"Assuming your future-vision is ever-true, that is," remarked Matau. The group went awkwardly silent for a few moments and then Nuju spoke up.

"We should probably split up into groups," said the Toa of Ice. "That way we’ll get done faster."

All the Toa Metru nodded and added their comments of assent, all oblivious of Turaga Dume’s pet Nivawk watching them closely, perched on to of the Great Temple. The Rahi hawk then flew off to the Coliseum to relay this information to his master.

 

Review Topic

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 28

The ancient wood and rope bridge creaked ominously as Ahkmou and his company of six other Matoran cautiously made their way across it. Cascades of water thundered down the waterfall they were crossing, sending spray up into the air and making the boards of wood beneath their feet dangerously slippery. Once Akamu, the Onu-Matoran who was shakily bringing up the rear, made it across, the seven Matoran sat down for a quick rest on the grassy hilltop and looked down at the beauty of the falls crashing down into Naho Bay.

"Mata Nui," breathed Shasa the Ga-Matoran. "This view is amazing."

"That it is," said Kamen, wiping some of the spray off of his brown Noble Mahiki and sitting down beside her. "It’s too bad the war has spoiled it and that there are no Matoran living around here any more to see it."

"But that’s why we’re here, though," said Vohon. "We’re making a stand against all this, aren’t we Ahkmou?"

"Yes, once we take Kini-Nui, the whole island will know of our cause," said Ahkmou confidently. "Now let’s get going, we’re still quite a few kio away from the temple."

"And we’ll need to hurry," said Toudu, the Ko-Matoran, a hand up to his light blue Noble Rau, shielding the sun from his eyes as he looked out towards the sea. "I can already see Ga-Matoran ships on the horizon. No doubt they plan to take the same route as us."

The company of Matoran got up and hurried into the nearby jungle which, according to Vakama, was supposed to lead them to Kini-Nui. Makani, being a Le-Matoran, led the way, as he was used to traveling through the jungles of Le-Wahi, but Akamu seemed to have trouble keeping up, his grey feet tripping over roots and shrubs and branches hitting his purple Noble Rau.

"Quick-speed now, slow-think Onu-Matoran!" called Makani, who was sitting in a tree peering down at Akamu’s slow progress with impatience. When Akamu failed to speed up, he plucked a Madu off of a a nearby branch and lobbed it at his head, but missed.

"Makani!" cried Ahkmou angrily. "What’s wrong with you?" The green Matoran leaped down from his tree and stared directly into Ahkmou’s eyes.

"Oh, I’m not ever-sure," he said with heavy sarcasm in his voice. "It might have something to do with his whole evil-people being slave-catchers!"

"I told you, Makani," panted Akamu, as he caught up with them and leaned on a mossy tree trunk for support. "I don’t believe in slavery– that’s why I left Onu-Koro."

"Well not think-believing in it won’t make it go away!" shouted Makani.

"That’s enough!" said Ahkmou sternly, placing himself between the Onu-Matoran and the Le-Matoran. "Just because some Onu-Matoran have enslaved the Le-Matoran, doesn’t mean they all have."

"Only because they haven’t trap-caught all of us yet," said Makani. "Have you listen-heard about that group-band that quick-escaped? They rumour-say that the Onu-Matoran have even made an entire army of Ussal riders to quick-catch them; they call it the Ussalry. Why can’t you get Vakama to make them halt-stop, Ahkmou?"

"I’ve spoken to Vakama already, but he says there’s nothing he can do," said Ahkmou, looking down at the ground. "The Onu-Matoran do not serve him, they are only temporary allies until we can capture Kini-Nui. He told me he wished that it did not have to be like that."

Vohon muttered something under his breath that only Kamen seemed to hear, causing him to throw the Ta-Matoran against a tree and hold him there by the neck.

"Watch your mouth, Ta-Matoran," said Kamen, glaring at Vohon’s yellow Kakama. Vohon choked and gasped for breath under Kamen’s grip and Ahkmou ran over to them to separate the two.

"That’s it!" he said to the group. "No more fighting. We’re on a mission of peace and we won’t be able to do it if you all keep bickering between each other."

"A mission of peace, huh?" scoffed Vohon. "Then why did you ally yourself with a tyrant like Vakama? In case you weren’t paying attention, he just sentenced an entire race of Matoran to slavery."

"No, it’s not like that," said Ahkmou. The whole group had gone silent and all eyes were on him. "Vakama had to do that– they tried to betray him."

"Admit it, Ahkmou," said Vohon. "You want to be just like Vakama, don’t you? All that power and the only thing that’s holding you back is being a Matoran. Makani and I were there when Vakama showed up during one of our meetings to question your motives. It’s all starting to make sense now."

"No, you’re wrong!" said Ahkmou quickly. "Besides, now is not the time for that, we still have to hurry for Kini-Nui while we have time."

"He’s right," said Toudu, cupping his hands to his ear. "I used to trap Rahi before joining the resistance and I can tell the sounds of approaching creatures. The Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran have just made landfall."

"Why did you warn them anyway?" asked Shasa as the group continued through the jungle. "We could’ve just taken Kini-Nui unopposed– no one guards it!"

"That’s not the point," said Ahkmou. "We’re capturing Kini-Nui to make a stand against the Turaga’s rule. We’re trying to show the island that there is another choice." Shasa seemed satisfied with this response, but Makani and Vohon simply exchanged a few muttered remarks.

Ahkmou and his company of Matoran soon came out of the jungle and into a more open rocky region. They passed over craggy rock faces, some of which grew into icy peaks until they finally came to an outcropping that overlooked the small forest that surrounded Kini-Nui. Shasa gasped in awe at what she was seeing, for never as a boat mender did she imagine seeing travelling to one of the island’s most ancient buildings. In the centre of the forest stood Kini-Nui itself, the now three stone pillars surrounding the Suva Kaita. Even in its damaged state, it was still an architectural marvel.

"Come on," said Ahkmou, leading them down the slope and through the forest. "We’re almost there. We’ll be able to scout out the area before we-" but he stopped himself mid-sentence and then signalled for the rest of the company to hide in a nearby clump of bushes. Peering through the branches, they could all see that three tall figures had reached the temple before them: Tahu, Pohatu, and Onua.

1 000 years earlier...

Makuta found that being a Turaga was rather limiting. He was a shapeshifter and was normally accustomed to taking the shape of a powerful colossus, not a diminutive former Toa. His pet Nivawk needed to be his eyes and ears in the city and it had recently been bringing him some interesting news. The new Toa Metru had gotten off to a slow start, but so far they had played right into his hands. It would only be a matter of time until they found the Great Disks and would foolishly try to impress him with them. Little did they know that he was already a good thousand steps ahead of them.

The false Turaga stepped into his private chambers and into a secret room, dominated by a gigantic shadowy sundial. It was filled with a darkness that seemed to even absorb the light from outside. In the blackest part of the sundial room, was a reflection of Makuta’s true darkness; two glowing red eyes shone on the feeble Turaga standing before them. The eyes were clever, sharp, and above all, pure evil. They showed the soul of a being who had fallen from greatness out of jealousy, a being whose power and knowledge was insurmountable, and a being whose thirst for power would drive him further than anyone else had ever gone.

The entire room was counting down the seconds until the fall of the Great Spirit. Many had tried to defeat him before and failed miserably, but finally, after tens of thousands of years of existence, Makuta– a being who was supposed to protect him, no less– was about to succeed in what some thought was inconceivable. He had poisoned Mata Nui a few centuries ago and the Great Spirit was only able to watch helplessly as he slowly succumbed to the attack. In only a short matter of time, the sundial would fill the room with darkness, indicating that Mata Nui had fallen into an endless sleep. The universe would be devastated by this and Makuta would become more powerful than ever.

Makuta looked at the progress the sundial was making and frowned. By his expectations, the Toa Metru were behind schedule, so to speak. He thought back to the information Nivawk had relayed him on previous occasions. In all cases, the Matoran who had recently become Toa were all delayed in their transformation by freak accidents. Makuta pondered whether or not these delays would interfere with his plans for quite some time, finally deciding that they would not. To facilitate his plan, the Great Disks needed to be found; when and whether by the Toa Metru or the Dark Hunters he had hired, he did not really care.

Perhaps, thought Makuta, I shall see how this plays out. If, as I expect, those two worthless Dark Hunters fail to retrieve the Great Disks from the novice Toa, I shall instruct them to plan an ambush for them when they head for the Coliseum expecting to be hailed as heroes. Besides, he added with a dark laugh, I’ve got time to kill.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 29

Toa Kopaka led the army up the hill with Gali on his left and Lewa on his right. Their armour was polished, their weapons were at the ready, and they were prepared for what was sure to be a cataclysmic fight. When they reached the top and could see the valley that held Kini-Nui below, Gali and Bour (whom Ahkmou had placed in charge of the army) formed up the troops while Lewa carried Kopaka high into the air with his Great Mask of Levitation so that Kopaka could get an aerial look at the battle field with his Great Mask of X-Ray Vision.

"Quick-hurry!" groaned Lewa. "I think you snack-eat too many Bula berries."

"This isn’t the time, Lewa," said Kopaka. "I think Ahkmou and the others are in trouble. I can see Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu." Lewa said nothing and brought them back down to Gali.

"Well?" she asked.

"We have to attack now," said Kopaka.

"But the Onu-Matoran and Ta-Matoran were supposed to be here by now!" said Gali.

"There’s no time slow-wait!" said Lewa. "The other Toa have race-beaten us."

"Very well, then," said Bour, who had been listening nearby. "Ready yourselves!" he called to the troops. Matoran from all six Koro drew a large array of weapons, from throwing disks, to spears, to bidents, to even simple tools like pickaxes and sickles. "For peace!" cried Bour as he led the charge down into the valley. The three Toa hesitated momentarily, feeling that something was not quite right about that battle cry, but joined in the attack nonetheless.

Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu looked up from their conversation at the coming avalanche of Matoran and drew their weapons. The Toa of Fire shot a burst of flame vertically up into the sky and then placed a shield around them. The Matoran knew instantly that he had alerted the enemy’s troops and diverted their attention to the opposite side of the valley, where Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran fighters began to pour in as well. Turaga Nokama and Onewa watched from the top of the precipice, directing the battle from well out of harm’s way. The two armies collided with a loud crunch as metal hit metal and the fighting began.

Ahkmou and his company exited the bushes in the ensuing chaos and tried to make for the temple only to be hit by a wave of earth from Onua. Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka made their way over to the other three Toa, pushing their way past the several waist-level battles between the Matoran that filled the area. Lewa flew up into the air out of sight, while Kopaka and Gali shot their elemental energy at Tahu’s shield. While this had no effect, it was enough to distract him so that when Lewa came swooping down only seconds later, he was caught by surprise and the shield was broken. Lewa deposited Tahu in the boughs of a tall tree, but was downed by one of the pieces of the broken temple pillar thrown by Pohatu. Onua, Gali, Pohatu, and Kopaka exchanged elemental blasts until Pohatu ended up with his feet encased in ice and Gali was half buried in a mound of earth.

Looking around at the battle before him, Ahkmou was starting to lose hope. No matter how hard they fought or how much they believed in the cause, his army of pacifists was no match for the well-trained soldiers of Nokama and Onewa. I’ve been such a fool, he thought to himself. These aren’t warriors, they’re lava farmers, fisherwomen, and musicians. Maybe Makani and Vohon were right. Maybe Vakama can’t be trusted...

Just then, Ahkmou heard the sound of a shell horn off in the distance. He looked up to the west and saw, standing majestically in front of the sun, Captain Jaller and his army of Ta-Matoran. With them were Takua the Chronicler on the back of an Ussal crab along with a team of Onu-Matoran miners. The horn sounded again and a wave of scarlet and black washed down the hill, almost like lava pouring out of the Mangai volcano. What the Ta-Matoran and Onu-Matoran lacked in numbers, they made up for in skill and strength. Jaller had reserved his best soldiers for this strike team, those who had trained under him for ages and had proven themselves numerous times in combat. The Onu-Matoran, on the other hand, had spent centuries digging and hauling rocks and earth in the mines of Onu-Wahi and had become quite strong because of it. They bashed Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran out of their with ease way as they ran down into the valley. Takua lunged out at Matoran with his Chronicler’s staff from on the back of Pewku, glad to be once more in the heart of excitement.

Onewa and Nokama were unprepared for this two pronged attack, but tried to redirect their strategies accordingly. The Onu-Matoran continued plowing through the battle until they came to the Suva Kaita. They then chose a spot beside it and began to dig through the stone structure of the temple as fast as they could. The Turaga of Stone and Water both glanced at each other simultaneously in fear as they realized what was going on.

"Stop those miners!" cried Nokama to the soldiers as she and Onewa rushed in to help with the attack, Trident and Stone Hammer knocking back Matoran left and right. Lewa, Gali, and Kopaka immediately rushed to their defence. The battle then seemed to gravitate to the temple, drawing all the Matoran into either defending or attacking it.

Nokama and Onewa beat their way through the crowd, only to hear one of the Onu-Matoran call out, "we’re through!" Their progress became more desperate and they made it to the temple in time to see Takua and Pewku vanish down the newly dug hole in the temple along with the miners.

"After them!" cried Onewa to Onua, Pohatu, and Tahu, who leaped down the hole without a moment’s pause, leaving the other three Toa no choice but to go after them as well.

There was a brief moment as both armies paused to look at the crudely smashed hole in the base of Kini-Nui, but Ahkmou quickly came to his senses and took charge. "Defend that tunnel!" he cried, and the fighting broke out once more.

1 000 years earlier...

Out of the forge and into the reclamation furnace! thought Vakama agitatedly, as he rolled away from a sickly black vine that was snaking his way. It had taken some time, but the Toa Metru had managed to collect the six Great Disks. A great achievement in of itself, but if they were to truly prove themselves, they needed to rescue the city.

Another vine shot up from a pool of molten Protodermis and went after Vakama as well, but he was ready with a quick shot of a Kanoka of freezing from his disk launcher. The vine froze solid with a thick layer of ice around it and Vakama turned back to go find the others again.

Before I was a Toa, things made sense. Plants couldn’t survive in liquid metal and I didn’t have to worry for my life every five minutes, he thought, keeping an eye out for more vines. He soon came back to the other Toa Metru (the six Matoran had recently left them, after having temporarily merged to form a legendary Matoran-Nui to smash down the main entrance to the Great Furnace), who were all waiting for him impatiently outside the entrance.

"We already have the Great Disks and we can walk right in to the Great Furnace to destroy the Morbuzakh’s King Root," said Onewa, crossing his arms. "Tell me again what the point was of you skulking about that side passageway?"

"We went over this already, Onewa!" said an exasperated Nokama. "The Morbuzakh is blind, if we trick it into thinking we are entering from the side, we’ll be able to surprise it when we come in from the front."

"Whatever," sighed Onewa. "I still say we’re wasting time."

"Are we battle-ready, firespitter?" asked Matau excitedly, drawing his Great Disk.

"I think so," said Vakama. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the smashed doorway into Ta-Metru’s largest building. The others followed and they were all blasted by an overwhelming wave of heat. Even to Vakama, who was not only a Toa of Fire, but was used to these temperatures anyway, it was uncomfortably warm. In the centre of the massive domed room towered the King Root. It reached from the floor several hundred bio up to the ceiling. Vines wriggled out from it, bathing themselves in pools of molten Protodermis, or else going out to destroy buildings elsewhere in the city.

"Foolish Toa," hissed a voice in their minds. "I may not be able to sssssee your bodiessss, but I can sssstill ssssee your mindsssss..."

"It can speak!" cried Whenua, jumping out of the way as hundreds of black vines shot for them. The colossal plant sent thundering laughter into their minds as it proceeded to attack them.

Vakama watched helplessly as his plan evaporated in the sweltering furnace all around him. The six Toa tried to fight off the vines with their elemental powers, but it did them no good, especially Vakama, since the plant thrived off of his fire.

If only there were more of us... thought Vakama sadly. The legends said that nearly two millennia ago, during the war in Metru Nui between the Toa and the Dark Hunters, that there were over three hundred Toa battling for the city’s freedom. If only I had such an army, he thought, firing off some more Kanoka of freezing. Maybe then I’d be able to prove myself. Maybe then I could be a hero...

 

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Edited March 20, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 30

Tahu lit his Firesword, filling the tunnels beneath Kini-Nui with a hot orange glow. Shadows spread themselves out in every direction, hiding behind the dripping stalactites and stalagmites that filled the cave. In the distance, he, Onua, and Pohatu could see the group of twenty or so Onu-Matoran as well as Takua on the back of Pewku hurrying as fast as they could along the tunnel. Before the Toa of Fire could even open his mouth to order their pursuit, however, he was hit by a stream of water from Gali, which immediately extinguished his flame. The cave was plunged back into darkness and the other three Toa took their chance to attack. When Tahu managed to re-ignite his weapon, he found that Lewa was already on top of him, axe high above his head. Tahu activated his Great Hau, forming a shield to repel the Toa of Air’s attack long enough for him to regroup with Onua and Pohatu.

"Go after the miners!" he cried to the Toa of Stone, who nodded, activated his Great Kakama, and dashed off along the tunnel at top speed. Kopaka noticed this and shot a blast of elemental energy at the ground, coating it in ice. Pohatu’s overlarge feet stumbled and he slid right into the cave wall. Seeing his downed ally, Onua brought up a wall of earth between the two groups of Toa and sealed off the tunnel.

"Come on!" he said. "It won’t be long ‘til they break through!"

With a flash of heat, Tahu melted the ice on the ground, but before they could set off after the miners, a voice whispered from the shadows.

"Toa..." it said. "You will not catch the Onu-Matoran in time, not before the other Toa manage to break through and try to stop you." Tahu opened his mouth to abject to the voice’s lack of faith, but it kept speaking, regardless. "Follow me and I shall show you the path to true power."

"This could be a trick," reasoned Onua, "set up to stop us from reaching the miners."

"He’s right," said Pohatu. "We need to leave now." The Toa of Stone activated his Great Kakama once more and dashed off into the darkness, only to have a piece of the wall fly out and crash right him.

"Mata Nui!" swore Tahu as he and Onua rushed to the fallen Toa of Stone. It was only until Tahu’s Firesword was near enough that they could truly see what was going on: Pohatu was being attacked by a creature made entirely of stone.

"Onua, what is that thing?" asked Tahu in disgust while Pohatu struggled with the monster.

"I think I heard Onewa say something about these creatures," he said, activating his Great Pakari, Mask of Strength to help Pohatu. The Toa of Stone, however, gained the upper hand on the beast and destroyed it with a burst of elemental energy. "They’re called Vatuka," explained Onua as the dust settled. "Bits of rock brought to life by-"

"Energized Protodermis," whispered the mysterious voice. "Something with the power to give life to mere rocks... Imagine what it could do for you."

"Absolutely not!" said Onua. "Energized Protodermis is the most dangerous substance in existence. Turaga Onewa told me that whatever it does not change, it destroys. How can will know that this won’t kill us?"

"Well..." said Tahu pensively. "We can’t afford to let it fall into the hands of the other Toa."

"Precisely," hissed the voice. The wall by which the Vatuka had been hiding then melted away, revealing a new tunnel. "This way," urged their mysterious guide. The three Toa walked along the unlit pathway for several minutes until they came to a much larger cavern. The floor was flat and the walls were incredibly smooth, but the whole room gave them the strangest feeling of unease. The room was not lit by Lightstones, but had a dim, eerie, unnatural green light that surrounded it.

"Welcome," boomed the voice now from high above, echoing throughout the vast cavern. "This was once the lair of the infamous Makuta that guarded the city of Metru Nui. It is fitting that this is where you Toa shall prove yourselves. Which ever team wins shall have the Energized Protodermis."

Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu looked around the seemingly empty room for their opponents. At the other end of the dome, they could just make out three figures whom they recognized instantly: Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka.

"What’s going on here?" demanded Tahu. A light appeared high in the air, off to the side. The six Toa looked up to see a high ledge upon which stood a black Turaga as well as an orange one.

"Yes, it is I," smirked Vakama at the Toa’s collective shock. The light from his Firestaff shone upon him as well as Turaga Whenua as they both looked down at the two Toa groups. "And if any of you want that Energized Protodermis, you had better start fighting."

"Wait," said Pohatu to Onua and Tahu. "I don’t think we can win."

"Well, with an attitude like that-" said Tahu.

"I meant I don’t think we can win like this," he explained.

"What do you mean?" asked Tahu, casting a casual glance at the other three Toa who seemed to be having a similar conversation.

"All these battles we have where it is just the six of us fighting seem to get us nowhere," said Pohatu. "I– I can’t explain it, but I feel as though we could access more power."

"Yes, I feel it too," said Onua. "As though we could become more if only truly united..." The three Toa looked at each other and then suddenly share a single understanding and felt themselves combine.

High above the soon to be battlefield, Turaga Whenua gaped at the Toa in shock. Not only were Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu combining, but Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka had managed to do so as well. "Vakama!" he exclaimed. "Are they becoming Toa Kaita?"

"They are," said Vakama with a tone of mild surprise in spite of himself. "Pay close attention, my friend. This will no doubt become the greatest battle you will ever live to see."

Where six Toa had once stood, there were now two colossi down in the arena. The one formed from Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu raised his Firesword above his head and cried, "I am Akamai, Toa Kaita of Valor, and you shall fail!"

The other Toa Kaita turned and raised his dual sword and axe in acceptance of the challenge. "I, Wairuha, Toa Kaita of Wisdom, would have to disagree with you about that."

Akamai activated his Great Aki, the Mask of Valor made from the masks of Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu, and charged at Wairuha with incredible speed. Wairuha stood his ground and just as Akamai reached him, he grabbed him by the shoulders and vaulted right over him out of the way of the attack. Coming to a skidding halt, Akamai whipped around and fired a stream of molten lava at Wairuha, who quickly turned it into solid rock with a blizzard. With another blast of power from Akamai, the stone exploded into clouds of dust, obstructing Wairuha’s vision. Using his Great Rua, Mask of Wisdom, he peered through the dust using the X-Ray aspect of his mask power, but Akamai, was nowhere to be seen. Akamai whipped around the back of the other Toa Kaita using his enhanced speed and delivered him a powerful kick in the back. The Toa Kaita of Wisdom was sent sprawling on the ground and Akamai leaped on him, preparing to smash him with his club. Wairuha was not as defeated as he looked, though, for while Akamai was in the air, he spun around and raised his shield to block the club. Then he delivering his foe a powerful kick to the chest, throwing him off and leaving him quite winded.

The battle continued like this for what felt like hours. Soon, both Toa Kaita reached a point of critical exhaustion and fell to the ground, separating back into the six Toa they had once been. The cavern was absolutely silent now, except for Turaga Vakama’s slow clapping from up on the ledge.

"Well done," he laughed. "Now it is time to witness the end of the Toa." Vakama activated a nearby mechanism that opened a door to an adjacent room below them. A silvery pool of rippling Energized Protodermis in the room sent its shimmering light into the dank cavern. Then, switching to and activating his Noble Mask of Telekinesis, Vakama lifted the six Toa one by one into the viscous pool, where they sank in out of sight.

"What if they are not destroyed by it?" asked Whenua when Vakama had finished.

Vakama switched by to his original Noble Huna. "It does not matter, not when I have an army of Bohrok under my command. It is now that we part ways, my old friend," he sighed, clapping the Turaga of Earth heartily on the back. "You have your slaves and I have my army."

"Best of luck to you, then," said Whenua, taking one last look over the edge at the pool below. As he turned to leave, he saw Vakama’s hand give an odd twitch and his eyes flash bright green.

"Come," he said, after another twitch. "Let us return to your miners before the final goodbye."

1 000 years earlier...

Although quite powerful, one of Krekka’s strong points was not necessarily patience. He could level an entire building with his bare hands, which was much easier than having to sneak in like how Nidhiki preferred to do. For some reason or other, Nidhiki preferred to operate stealthily, which meant that Krekka was forced to wait patiently while Nidhiki went off scouting. Krekka unconsciously reached a hand up to his damaged eye: a constant reminder of why he should listen to those who were stronger than him.

Still, though, he thought. How was I supposed to know she was a Makuta? They always look different! In his anger, he accidentally broke a piece of the roof he was hiding on. Hastily, he tried to put it back into place before Nidhiki came back, but the humming sound of behind him signalled that his flying partner had returned early.

"I leave you alone for a few minutes and you break a hole in the roof?" said Nidhiki scathingly. "Honestly, Krekka, I’m amazed you haven’t lost both your eyes yet."

Krekka grunted and pointed a thick arm at the entrance to the Archives that he had been watching for the past few hours, out of which six colourful figures were emerging.

"Ah yes," said Nidhiki. "It appears Dume was right; there are the Toa Metru, coming back from yet another victory. I bet they’re feeling pretty proud of themselves, why don’t we put them back in their place?" His cyclops companion merely blinked at him. Nidhiki gave a large sigh and added, "now you can smash things."

Krekka grinned broadly and bounded from the rooftop into the midst of the Toa Metru. The six Toa all drew their Toa tools and aimed them at him. "Give me the disks, Toa!" ordered Krekka, ignoring them.

The brown Toa laughed disdainfully. "Are you joking me? We are the Toa Metru. We have defeated the Morbuzakh, the Krahka beast, and we will soon defeat you."

"Wait, Onewa," said Nokama. "This could be the Krahka in disguise. She was able to shapeshift, if you can remember."

"No," said Vakama. "I’m pretty sure this is one of the Dark Hunters that captured Toa Lhikan." The mood instantly changed. The six Toa all became very tense and even Onewa had become grave once more. Krekka, however, could not understand the significance of this and acted as though nothing had happened.

"I said give me the Great Disks! Now!"

Before the Toa could attack him, though, Nidhiki flew into the scene and pointed a claw at the Toa of Water, who seemed to be the most authoritative of the group. "You’d better give my friend what he wants or he might get angry, and when he gets angry, people start losing limbs."

"Don’t make us attack you!" said Vakama. "We may be new Toa, but we know how to deal with villains like you!"

Now it was Nidhiki’s turn to laugh. "Go ahead then, Toa of Fire," he rasped. "‘Deal’ with me." Vakama tensed his muscles and a look of intense concentration came over him, but only a few harmless sparks came out of his hand. Nidhiki began to laugh even harder. "You haven’t even been Toa for a week and already you’ve exhausted your elemental powers? Take their disks, Krekka, you’ll get more injuries from a sand snipe than these rookies." Krekka nodded and tugged away the Great Disks from each of the Toa forcefully, but being unable to use their powers, they could do nothing to stop him. "While you’re at it, Krekka, take their masks and weapons, we might be able to sell them when we’re done this job."

As Krekka reached for the Toa of Fire’s mask, he was hit from behind by a beam of energy and was filled with an insatiable urge to find law breakers that were disrupting order. The Dark Hunter turned towards his green companion, aimed his Kanoka launcher, and fired.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 31

Aiyetoro’s pickaxe sliced through the thin, sickly green membrane of the Bohrok’s container. The pale light of a Lightstone shone on its slimy, smooth surface as the folds of material fell away. He shuddered at the sight of the beetle-like creature inside, with its large, vacant eyes. The Turaga had said that they were in an eternal sleep, unable to be awoken by anything; all the same, Aiyetoro would have liked nothing better but to return to mining Lightstones back in Onu-Wahi. With a sluice, the black Onu-Matoran pried the round Bohrok out from its resting place, where it fell to the cavern floor with a heavy thud.

"Just a million more and we’ll be all set," chuckled Azibo, walking over and gesturing to the honeycombed cave wall filled with a seemingly endless supply of Bohrok. "Come on, we should finish that barricade before the Toa reach us."

"That won’t be necessary, prospector," said Turaga Whenua arriving at the Onu-Matoran’s work site along with Vakama. "We have taken care of them; the Toa are no more."

"Now, hurry," said Vakama to the miners, before they could start discussing the recent turn of events. "You only have two days left to finish."

"Indeed," interjected Whenua. "Open up as many of the Pahrak and Nuhvok– the brown and black ones– as you can. The rest can wait until later."

Hours trickled by slowly as, one by one, the miners pried out the Bohrok and removed their colourful, slimy Krana, which were then thrown into a deep pit. Turaga Whenua spent most of the time dictating to Takua various things he had discovered about the Bohrok in his supplemental research on them back in Metru Nui, such as their basic structure, the extent of their powers, and even theories he had on their origin. Everything was transcribed onto a series of tablets which would later become a part of Vakama’s private records. All the while, Vakama watched the working Matoran in silence, stroking the mouthpiece of his Noble Huna pensively.

In the darkness of the cave, no one knew how quickly time was passing so it was a surprise to everyone when Captain Jaller, Maglya, and Agni came running through the main tunnel, all looking quite dishevelled.

"The battle is won," announced Jaller, panting heavily. "But at a very terrible price. Most of Ahkmou’s Matoran are badly wounded or captured and the three of us are all that remains of our strike team."

"You have done very well, Captain," said Vakama warmly. "And you two," he added, nodding at Maglya and Agni, "you can be expecting a promotion soon."

"But Turaga, the other soldiers, they-"

"Jaller, our success today means that we no longer need soldiers. The Ta-Matoran and their allies are no longer in danger of being captured or killed in the battlefield, for these Bohrok bring about a new era of warfare to this island!"

Jaller leaned on a stalagmite for support while he caught his breath and looked at the thirty or so prepared Bohrok. "Well then, we need to go after them! With these Bohrok under our control, we’ll be able to free-"

"No, Jaller, the prisoners will be fine. We need these Bohrok right now a lot more than we need those incompetent soldiers."

Jaller looked for a moment as though he would like to argue, but he seemed to think better of it and merely nodded. Turaga Whenua gathered up the miners, as they had finished their work, and bade Vakama and the others farewell before setting off down the tunnel to Kini-Nui.

"Captain," said Vakama, "I’ll need you and your two soldiers to use these Bohrok to destroy the tunnel to Kini-Nui as well as the Makuta’s former lair. Once you’ve finished, take the Bohrok to Ta-Koro; Maglya should know the way. The Chronicler and I will meet you there."

Jaller saluted and set off to do his task while Vakama, with a little difficulty, hopped on to Pewku’s back, just behind Takua.

"Come on, girl," said Takua to his pet crab, "let’s go home." With a few squeaks, Pewku darted off into the darkness, with only Vakama’s Firestaff as a source of light.

"Are the Toa really gone, Turaga?" asked Takua after a long period of silence.

"It would seem that way," Vakama replied, "but Energized Protodermis is a very strange thing, a very strange thing indeed..." Vakama began muttering to himself in a very low voice and Takua decided not to pursue the issue. In the distance, Takua could hear loud explosions, which he assumed were the work of Jaller’s demolition, but other than that, the only sounds in the echoing tunnel were Vakama’s muttering the scuttling of Pewku’s feet.

Finally reaching Ta-Koro, Vakama slid off of Pewku’s back and motioned for Takua to do the same. Wincing slightly, Takua dismounted from his Ussal crab and landed on the soft, volcanic earth of the Ta-Wahi region.

"I need to see you in my hut," said Vakama. "I have another mission for you. Hopefully one where you won’t break any more limbs," he added with a dark chuckle. Takua forced a smile and, using his Chronicler’s staff and Vakama’s Firestaff as crutches, followed the orange Turaga into his hut. After performing his customary search of the room, Vakama pushed aside his bed (this time with the help of his Noble Matatu) and led Takua down the stairs to his private Suva chamber.

"You are a very loyal Ta-Matoran, Takua, and an excellent Chronicler," said Vakama. "It is with deep sorrow that I must ask you to leave us."

"Leave?" said Takua in dismay.

"To go to Onu-Koro, that is... as a spy," Vakama explained.

"But aren’t we the Onu-Matoran’s allies?"

"We were," said Vakama, "but it was a short-lived alliance. We got our Bohrok and they got their slaves. Now that Whenua has two Koro worth of Matoran under his command, I fear that the power may go to his head and he may rashly try to attack us. With you there to spy on him, we’ll be able to intervene before things get out of hand."

"But won’t the Onu-Matoran be suspicious if they see a Ta-Matoran walking around and listening to their plans?" asked Takua.

"Precisely," laughed Vakama. "Which is why they will not see a Ta-Matoran at all; they will see one of their own kind."

"What do you-" but Takua stopped mid sentence when he realized that Vakama wanted him to use his newly discovered ability. "But I don’t know how to control it! It just... happens!"

"Concentrate, Takua. Focus on your armour and the ability should come to you," said Vakama, with a slight intensity in his gaze.

Takua shrugged and squinted his eyes as tightly as he could. He thought of dark tunnels, of his visit to Onu-Koro, of the Onu-Matoran who had nearly captured him, of how he had nearly drowned in the underground river... When he opened his eyes he saw Vakama looking partially, incredulous, partially impressed, and another emotion that he could not quite read. Looking down at his body, Takua saw that his armour had turned from red and yellow to black. "I did it!" he cried, accidentally letting go of his crutches, which shot bolts of pain through his legs as he put his weight on them, causing him to return to his old Ta-Matoran colours.

"That’ll be something you’ll have to avoid," said Vakama seriously. "Unless you are in your hut with the door locked, you are absolutely never to leave Pewku’s back." Nodding quickly, Takua made his armour black once more. "Now off to Onu-Koro with you. There you’ll be able to relax, maybe get a few slaves, and hopefully recover from your injuries. But first, I need you to tell me everything you learned from Whenua about the Bohrok."

Outside the hut, unbeknownst to Takua and Vakama, a lone figure hid in the shadows nearby. He had been able to tolerate some of Vakama’s wrongdoings, hoping that it would all resolve itself, but Vakama using Bohrok as a tool of war was too much. He wished that he had done something earlier to stop this, but it had all gotten out of hand far too quickly. Once certain that no one was around, he made his way for the hut.

If all goes well, the war will end tonight, he said to himself, reaching for the handle of the door.

1 000 years earlier...

Hanging his head in shame, Vakama was absolutely certain that things could not get worse. While the convenient attack of the Vahki on the Dark Hunters had allowed the Toa Metru to escape to the Coliseum, things had started to go downhill from there. Firstly, Turaga Dume had refused the Great Disks as proof of their worth and even doubted whether they were actually Toa. He then presented them with a test, using the Coliseum’s moving floor– a test they had failed miserably. Now beaten and sore, the six Toa Metru awaited the Turaga’s judgment.

"How unfortunate," said the Turaga of Metru Nui over the loudspeakers in the Coliseum, "with the loss of Toa Lhikan, we could have used new Toa in our beloved city. These, however, are imposters! No doubt responsible for Lhikan’s disappearance!"

A collective gasp of shock arose from the stadium’s crowd as Dume summoned the Vahki to capture the Toa and reactivated the Coliseum’s floor controls. A huge whirlwind erupted from the ground, sucking everything in the stadium’s field down into the bowels of the Coliseum. Whenua managed to wedge his Earthshock Drills into the ground to anchor himself and Nokama followed suit with her Hydro Blades. Onewa and Vakama were not so quick with their Toa tools and they found themselves tumbling through the air. Nokama spotted them and quickly grabbed onto Onewa’s leg.

"Nokama!" cried Vakama as he flew closer to the heart of the whirlwind. The Toa of Water craned her head back and wrenched one of her Hydroblades free. She then closed her eyes tight with concentration and threw the Toa tool over her back. Being more aerodynamic, it was not long until it caught up with Vakama, who was able to grab it and dig it into the ground as well.

Nuju and Matau were still fighting against the powerful winds, but they were soon swept away. Matau vainly flailed about, trying to gain control of his flight, but ended up knocking Whenua loose and sending all three of them into the abyss. Seeing half of his Toa team gone in one fell swoop as well as several squads of Vahki marching towards them, Vakama desperately loaded the Great Disk of Ko-Metru into his launcher and shot it at the ground, coating nearly the entire field in ice. The stadium’s gears and machinery started to jam and the Vahki were caught off balance and went sliding right into the whirlwind. As Matoran operators scrambled to fix the problem, Vakama, Nokama, and Onewa made their escape.

Vakama grabbed the Great Disks on his way out and muttered ruefully to himself, "well, I guess things could be worse after all."

 

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Edited March 20, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 32

Takua screamed as a jagged blade sliced right through the trap door. He tripped over backwards and tumbled down the stairs to Vakama’s feet. The Turaga of Fire grabbed his Firestaff from Takua, backed away to his Suva, and held up his weapon defensively. With a sharp jolt, the blade tore the trap door open with incredible strength, showering the room with splinters of wood. Takua scrambled over to Vakama and tried to hoist himself up on his Chronicler’s staff.

A massive clawed hand reached in and grabbed the lip of the opening, while powerful limbs began walking down the stairs. A titanic beast lumbered its way down into the Suva chamber; it had a mouth full of dagger-like teeth and eyes that burned with rage. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the stranger stood well over twice the height of a Toa, having to stoop low in order to prevent its head hitting the ceiling, but Vakama and Takua were well aware that it could still easily swipe at them with either of its deadly weapons.

"Vakama!" roared the giant. "The Pit awaits you!"

Though trembling like he was in a bioquake, Vakama stood his ground. "What do you want, monster?" he demanded.

"I am Botar, come to take you to the Pit for the crimes you have committed against the Great Spirit."

Upon hearing this, Vakama stopped trembling and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. "Crimes? Crimes?!" he cried incredulously. "I defeated the Makuta, his greatest foe. Even now, I continue to fulfill his will by conquering this island!"

"Mata Nui’s will is the law and you are a lawbreaker. Now come meet your fate in the Pit," said Botar, reaching out a blue, muscular arm.

A bright flash of light issued from Vakama Firestaff, momentarily blinding Botar. In the confusion, Vakama reached down to the Suva and pulled a Kanohi mask out from a secret compartment. "Come no further, Botar, or I shall destroy us all!" warned Vakama.

Readjusting his vision, Botar looked down at the small, orange Turaga before him, who was holding a strange, rusted mask. "Do you take me for a fool, Vakama?" laughed Botar. "No mask can save you now."

"Silence, creature!" barked Vakama. "This is the Vahi, Mask of Time– a mask powerful enough to undo reality itself– and I am quite sure that such a thing is very much against Mata Nui’s will." Botar’s mouth hung open slightly and a scowl of pure hate swam onto his features. "Now drop your weapons, Botar, and then we shall have a talk like civilized beings." Botar thrust his axe and his blades violently at the ground and shot Vakama a look of pure disgust. "So tell me," said Vakama, the picture of calmness, "why are you here?"

"I am part of an organization called the Order of Mata Nui. It is our duty to carry out the Great Spirit’s will in the universe. For millennia, we did this quite well, but then the Great Spirit was betrayed by the Makuta and sent into an endless sleep. For a while, things seemed to be going well as you and the other Toa Metru had managed to successfully imprison the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, but none of us could have foreseen the evil that would arise from that."

"Do you mean this war?" scoffed Vakama.

"No!" bellowed Botar. "There are much more important things in the world than this worthless island!" Vakama tapped the Mask of Time warningly and Botar regained his composure. "With the Makuta of Metru Nui out of the way, another Makuta, by the name of Icarax, took over the organization in his stead. Deciding to abandon the Brotherhood’s original plan, Icarax led the forces of the Brotherhood to conquer most of the Matoran universe. With the Dark Hunters as their allies, the Brotherhood carried out a massive genocide on the Toa, wiping most of them out. The Order has tried as hard as it could to fight them, but our numbers grow smaller everyday."

"An interesting tale, Botar," said Vakama. "So why now attempt to capture me?"

"This is one of the last free Matoran settlements on the planet– free from the Brotherhood of Makuta, that is. The way I see it, the villagers here are imprisoned by the greater evil of this senseless war, but that is beside the point. A spy from the Order reports that the Toa Mata landed here not too long ago and we-"

"Those Toa are no more," said Vakama. "They chose to oppose me, so I destroyed them in Energized Protodermis."

"Vakama!" cried Botar through gritted teeth. "Several mio south of here, there is an island called Voya Nui that may hold the universe’s final hope of salvation. Without the Toa to go there and retrieve it, we are all doomed!"

"Correction, you are doomed," smiled Vakama. "The inhabitants of this island are quite safe from the dangers that plague the world below us."

"That is unacceptable!" roared Botar. "You will submit to me and allow the will of Mata Nui to be fulfilled!"

"I’ve already warned you once," said Vakama. "This Firestaff made the Mask of Time and it can just as easily unmake it. Doing so will unleash the mask’s power over time and warp all of reality– maybe even destroy it."

Botar clenched his fists tight in pure frustration, but after a few deep, heaving breaths, he managed to speak. "Very well, live out the rest of your days here, then. At least allow me to take the Av-Matoran with me so that the rest of us can at least stand a fighting chance," he said, pointing a clawed hand at the black armoured Takua.

"I don’t think so, Botar," said Vakama. "You and your spy will leave this land with nothing, never to return, and you will watch in despair as I conquer it and then proceed to take my armies to conquer Voya Nui as well. This is the will of Mata Nui, now begone!"

Shaking his head in disgust, the Order of Mata Nui member scooped up his weapons and vanished from sight. Vakama placed the Vahi back into its hidden compartment in his Suva and turned to Takua.

"So there is another island is in this vast ocean, and soon it will be mine as well. Try as the world might, Takua, no one can stop Manifest Destiny."

1 000 years earlier...

Being an Onu-Matoran, Whenua was no stranger to dark, enclosed spaces, having spent most of his life in them. The underground prison that the Dark Hunters had taken the Toa to, under Turaga Dume’s orders, would have ordinarily felt just like home to Whenua, had it not been for his cell mates. Nuju simply sat in a corner and moaned about how impossible it was for them to escape and then even began to explain why; Whenua could tolerate that, but Matau was completely something else. Filled with boundless energy, Matau leaped about their cell, trying various fruitless attempts to escape. After giving up on trying to escape through the grated ceiling, he would take his Aero Slicers and periodically try to hack his way through the rock wall before flopping down momentarily to catch his breath and then start back up again.

"Would you just knock it off?" asked Whenua after about the fifteenth time Matau had attempted this.

"Sorry, brother, but a Toa-hero has no time to rest-stop with a city to help-save," replied Matau brightly, checking to see that his blades had not suffered any major damage.

"You’re just wasting time, Matau," sighed Whenua. "There’s nothing you can do to get us out of here."

"Well at least I’m hard-trying!" snapped Matau, going at the wall once more. Whenua glared and said nothing, not wanting to admit that the Toa of Air might be right. He moodily slumped to the ground and tried to ignore the tiny rock fragments that kept bouncing off his mask as Matau went at the wall again.

"Now, now, Toa," wheezed a voice from the shadows. "There’s no need to argue, or to wear yourselves out. I think I can help you escape."

The three Toa all spun around to see a small, red and gold Turaga hobble his way towards them. He was unfamiliar to them and wore an ornate covering on his head that obscured his mask.

"Who are you," asked Nuju, peering at the stranger with the telescopic lens in his mask.

"What is more important, I think, is that you know who you are," he replied mysteriously. The Toa glanced at each other and collectively shrugged. "You are Toa, are you not?" the Turaga went on. "Why don’t you use your mask powers to escape?"

"Only one problem, Turaga," said Whenua. "We don’t know how to us them yet."

"Well then," the stranger laughed. "Lucky for you I can teach you."

Over the next few hours, Matau, Nuju, and Whenua carried out a series of odd exercises that the Turaga assured them would help them learn to use their powers. Nuju was told to carry large stones from one end of the prison to the other, while Whenua was made to walk around blindfolded. Whenua was not doing so well at his task and he would have ordinarily been able to control his temper in this situation, had it not been for Matau, whose exercise was to mimic Nuju and Whenua’s every movement. Even though Whenua could not actually see Matau through the blindfold, he was in no mood for Matau’s constant fits of snickering every time Whenua tripped over a rock.

I am sick and tired of that Toa of Air! thought Whenua angrily. In fact, he considered, I’m fed up with everything to do with air! Those beings are nothing but trouble. Tuuli knocked me out and stole my stuff and then that stupid Rahkshi in the Archives nearly killed me! If it were up to me, I’d get rid of Le-Metru; let the Matoran walk for a change!

Whenua decided to take a break from his exercise to sit down and watch Nuju’s stone carrying absentmindedly. The Toa of Ice tripped over his own feet and sent the rock he was carrying high into the air as he threw out his arms to catch himself. Matau mimicked his fall, only making it more dramatic and adding a loud, drawn out cry of mock pain as he fell to the ground in slow motion. In spite of himself, Whenua could not help but smile.

You know, Matau’s not too bad once you get to know him. I’m probably just in a bad mood or something, he reasoned. I’m sure it’ll pass eventually.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 33

Takua left Ta-Koro in secret on Pewku’s back, just at the break of dawn. The Ta-Matoran took little notice of his absence, as he had, for the past few weeks, been bedridden, and they were quite used to not seeing him. Over the next few days, life in Ta-Koro and Ko-Koro changed quite drastically. All lava farming, burnt wood gathering, and weapon forging instantly came to a halt and the Matoran workers were sent into the Bohrok nest to prepare more Bohrok. All soldiers were sent back home and the barracks were torn down to make room for all the new Bohrok that were being delivered. Newly-promoted Sergeants Agni and Maglya led a team workers to the former site of Le-Koro, which had been burnt to the ground. As Ta-Koro had now become a military base for storing the Bohrok, the Ta-Matoran were setting up a new village in the ruins of Le-Koro. With the help of acid-spewing Lehvak, the trees were cut down, and the earth-weakening Nuhvok helped to drain the Fau swamp.

In Ko-Koro, similar development was underway. Preferring cold climates, the Ko-Matoran opted to stay on Mount Ihu rather than join the Ta-Matoran’s new village. Several Bohrok (mainly Tahnok, Kohrak, and Pahrak) were sent to Matoro, who used them to melt ice into drinking water, create new structures from ice, and level certain rock formations. With a bit of ingenuity, he was even able to construct a rough tower out of solid ice, which would serve as an observatory for the astrologers to get a better look at the night sky, but also as a palace from which he would rule the village. A group of icesmiths, led by a Ko-Matoran named Arktinen, would work on carving the interior. According to Matoro’s plans, the completed structure would look just like one of the Knowledge Towers of Ko-Metru.

Back in Ta-Koro, only a small handful of soldiers were still needed to control the Bohrok. Spies on the backs of Gukko birds reported seeing the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran armies massing in the northwest, near Onu-Wahi, therefore being no immediate threat to Ta-Koro. After Vakama instructed the Ta-Matoran how to use the Bohrok, several guard outposts were set up around the border of Ta-Wahi. Each Matoran guard was given two or three Bohrok, while the labourers in the nest worked on preparing more.

Captain Jaller was given the task of guarding the north-eastern beach, most specifically the mysterious telescope that sat on top of a rocky cliff that jutted out over the ocean. Turaga Vakama would not tell him what exactly the telescope was for, only that it needed to be protected from the Ga-Matoran. Around the base of the telescope, there were several constellations carved into the stone, each one featuring different predicted locations of the Red Star and how it was to complete certain constellations. At night, Jaller would look into the telescope out of curiosity, but could deem no knowledge of the future from what he saw. During the day, he would look through it out to the ocean, should any Ga-Matoran ships sail by, but he normally just saw endless, blue, sparkling waves. One day, however, he spotted something far off in the distance.

"Bohrok," he said, his voice sounding strange due to lack of use, "aim at that object in the distance and fire on my signal." The Lehvak and two Tahnok tucked themselves into balls and rolled along the beach below to get a clear shot. They unfurled and pointed their shields to the horizon, waiting for Jaller’s command. Jaller peered into the telescope again and saw that the object was a small canoe that seemed to hold only two passengers.

Confident that they posed no immediate threat, Jaller waited for them to get closer, all the while watching them through the telescope. Soon, he was able to tell that they were both two blue Ga-Matoran. One wore a Noble Huna and the other wore a Great Kaukau. About a kio or so off shore, the Ga-Matoran stopped their boat and pulled out two fishing lines, which they dropped into the water. The Matoran with the Kaukau made a comment that sent the one with the Huna into fits of laughter. Jaller watched the two Matoran for several minutes and completely forgot about what he was supposed to be doing.

They look so peaceful, he thought. Just spending the day fishing without worrying about fighting or orders or anything...

Jaller focused on the Matoran with the Kaukau and wondered if things had gone differently, if there had been no war on the island, if they could have been friends, or even something closer. The nearby sound of Gukko wings, however, brought Jaller back to his senses.

"Captain," called Vakama, stepping down from his ride. "I’m making a check of the guard outposts. Why are your Bohrok aiming at the ocean?"

"Oh, Turaga, I didn’t expect you," said Jaller quickly, looking away from the telescope.

"Why are your Bohrok aiming at the ocean?" repeated Vakama more forcefully.

"I uh... I thought I saw something, but it was nothing," Jaller lied.

"Well then," said Vakama, "you won’t mind if I have a look." Jaller winced slightly as Vakama looked into the telescope. "Perhaps your vision is failing, Captain, because I see two spies in Ta-Matoran waters."

"No, they’re just fisherwomen, Turaga, they wouldn’t hurt anyone."

"Ah," sighed Vakama understandingly. "That is merely a ruse to fool you and it seems to have worked. Perhaps you are spending too much time alone. Now give the order to destroy them."

With some difficulty, Jaller swallowed and looked from the three Bohrok to the canoe in the distance. "N-no," he said.

Vakama’s eyes opened wide as he turned slowly to Jaller. "What was that?"

"No," said Jaller, a little more confidently this time. "I will not be responsible for innocent lives."

"They are not innocent, they are spying on us and would kill you in an instant if they had the chance. Not only that, but they are disobeying the will of Mata Nui himself."

Jaller backed away and shakily reached for his bident. "That’s insane, they’re just fisherwomen. There isn’t even anything to see on this beach. They are innocent!"

"Perhaps you have overextended yourself, Captain," growled Vakama, sounding like a Muaka about to pounce. "Put down your weapon and we can go back to Ta-Koro where you can rest for a few days."

"You’re probably right," sighed Jaller, dropping his bident and descending the stone staircase down to the beach, where the Bohrok stood, still poised for attack. Vakama took the bident and went after him.

"You see, Captain, all you need is to regain perspective," said Vakama soothingly. He then turned to the Bohrok and said, "fire."

Immobilized by shock, Jaller could only watch as the blasts of fire and acid flew at the canoe and destroyed it, sending bits of wood and armour flying everywhere. Still in a daze, it was not until a slightly burnt blue Kaukau washed up on shore that himself Jaller himself exploded.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" shrieked Jaller.

"I got rid of two Ga-Matoran spies, as is my duty," responded Vakama peacefully.

"THEY WERE NOT SPIES AND YOU MURDERED THEM!"

"All the same, they were our enemies and not at all to be trusted."

"Vohon was right about you," said Jaller, shaking his head in disbelief. "You are evil. There is no way that killing the innocent is Mata Nui’s will."

"They chose to defy the Great Spirit so I dealt with them accordingly," said Vakama.

Jaller could not believe how Vakama could be so calm after committing nothing short of coldblooded murder. "You Manas! You Piraka!" he cried.

"A monster? A murderous thief?" laughed Vakama. "My, my, Jaller. Such language."

"Hordika!"

Vakama stopped laughing immediately and narrowed his eyes lividly. "Matoran, hand me your mask. I am hereby dismissing you from the Ta-Matoran army."

"You’ll have to pry it off my cold, dead face," spat Jaller, snatching his bident from Vakama.

"If you insist!" retorted Vakama, lunging for the former Ta-Matoran Captain.

Jaller met him with his bident, the tines aimed right at his eyes, but Vakama deflected it with his Firestaff. A fearsome battle broke out between the two as Jaller made several stabs at Vakama, who parried them all with ease. Just as Jaller sensed his opponent was growing tired, Vakama unexpectedly activated his Noble Huna and vanished from sight. He managed to land several blows on Jaller, who was at a total loss at how to fight an invisible foe. Then, however, he noticed Vakama’s footprints in the sand and he started to regain the upper hand.

He pushed back Vakama several bio until they reached the hard, black, volcanic rock of Ta-Wahi. It was then that Jaller saw that he had fallen right into Vakama’s trap. No footprints showed up on the rock, allowing Vakama to fell Jaller with three swift blows. Panting heavily, Vakama faded back into sight, his Firestaff pointed at Jaller’s neck. Making as though to take of his mask, Jaller grabbed a stone and threw it at Vakama’s head, dazing him slightly, and giving Jaller a chance to escape.

As he shot along the beach, he heard Vakama sound the alarm and call out, "whichever of you brings me his mask gets to be the new captain."

Looking over his shoulder, Jaller could see Lieutenants Keahi and Kalama speeding towards him, bidents at the ready. They soon caught up with him, forcing Jaller to fight for his life. He had trained both of them and taught them all they knew, but his fight with Vakama had worn him down and he was not used to fighting his own soldiers. Keahi managed to fake him out and got the tines of his bident lodge in the cheek grooves of his Hau. The next thing he knew, Jaller was lying in the wet sand without a mask.

"Well done, Keahi," Jaller heard Vakama say, as his vision started to fade. "Kalama, why don’t you have the honour of putting the traitor out of his misery?"

I’m dying, thought Jaller, his body growing progressively weaker. I can see the Ga-Matoran with the Kaukau. She’s smiling at me...

But Jaller then realized that it was just her mask that had washed up on shore. Mustering all the strength he had left, he reached out for the mask and placed it on his face. Feeling power surge within him, he leaped to his feet and ran up the stone staircase to the telescope.

"Kill him! Kill him!" cried Vakama. The other two Ta-Matoran raced up the stairs after Jaller, who was ready for them with his bident. He was able to beat back Keahi, but Kalama made a jab at his legs and sent him flat on his back. Jaller scrambled to his feet, but Kalama rammed his shoulder into his chest and sent the former captain over the edge of the cliff into the sea below.

1 000 years earlier...

Vakama sat with his legs dangling over the back end of the Vahki transport while Onewa and Nokama had their own private conversation up near the front. Looking up to the sky, Vakama checked to see that they were still heading in the direction of Lhikan’s spirit star, and by consequence, him as well. From what he could tell, they were starting to veer off course, but given that they were merely stowaways on the transport, they would have to get out and walk. The Toa of Fire stood up and walked past a pile of large, strange, silver spheres that the transport was carrying, over to Onewa and Nokama. When he reached them, Nokama was still giggling from the remark Onewa had just made.

"Can we help you, mask maker?" drawled Onewa.

Vakama look around awkwardly and said, "yeah, we’re uh... heading off course. We need to get out and follow the star on foot."

"If you say so," said Onewa, getting up and helping Nokama to her feet. "Lead the way."

As Nokama muttered something to Onewa, Vakama could not help but feel like he was missing out on some private joke. He made his way for the exit, only to be knocked right into the pile of spheres.

"What was that?" asked Nokama.

"It was nothing," said Onewa. "We must’ve hit a bump or something." Just as he finished his sentence, though, the silvery horn of a Kikanalo sliced right through the transport’s metal wall.

"Well, whatever it was, it looks like it’s hitting back!" said Vakama, checking that the six Great Disks were safely packed away as he drew his disk launcher.

 

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[SPIRIT]

(Author's Note: this chapter was originally written as a part of Epics Contest 8: A New Perspective, where entrants had to "take a chapter from one of [their] epics and rewrite it from the first-person perspective of one [of the] characters".  Incidentally, it was awarded second place.)
 

 
Chapter 33.5

The sea was calm, the sun was bright, and conditions were perfect for fishing. Macku rowed our boat around the cape to the waters just beside a sheer cliff which sloped down to a long strip of beach. The faintest glint of green coming from the top of the cliff told us we had reached our destination. I reached into the bottom of the boat and pulled out two fishing rods, one of which I handed to Macku, who sat facing me at the back of the boat. Tossing the lines over the side of the boat, we simultaneously gave a relaxed sigh and began to fish.

"Do you think he bought it, Hahli?" asked Macku.

"Hook, line, and sinker," I replied.

Despite the seriousness of our mission, Macku was unable to control herself and gave a snorting giggle.

"Can you see anyone on the beach?" I asked her, once she had regained her composure.

"Hard to say," said Macku, feigning a stretch and squinting her eyes over my shoulder towards the shore. "I might be able to if we had been able to borrow the lens on someone's Akaku."

"And give ourselves away?" I said incredulously. "Honestly, Macku, I have no idea how you became commodore thinking like that. We need to look like we're fishing or else the guard here will–"

"Yes, I know the plan, Hahli. I was just saying..."

I rummaged through the bottom of the boat again and handed her a piece of charcoal. "Try this," I said, rubbing some on my fingers and then drawing two black streaks under my eyes on top of my Great Kaukau. "Nokama said that it would cut down on the sun's glare."

As Macku applied the charcoal to her Huna, I jokingly put some more on my upper lip and made a funny face that forced her to clap a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Honestly, Hahli," said Macku, giving another casual glance over my shoulder, "it's a wonder you became chronicler acting like that."

I wiped off the excess soot with the back of my hand and stowed the charcoal back where I had found it.

"Okay, now I see him," said Macku, pretending to check her line. "He's got three Bohrok: two red ones and a green one. Other than that, he's all alone. They're aiming at us, I think, but since we aren't a pile of slag by now, I'd say he still thinks we're fishing."

"Good," I said. "If you think we look bad with soot on our masks, just imagine what we'd look like as a pile of slag."

"Oh, Hahli," said Macku, rolling her eyes. We sat in silence for a few moments until Macku suddenly said, "did I really have to lie to Hewkii?"

"It wasn't really a lie, Macku," I assured her. "We really are fishing and the northern waters really are running low on fish."

"You know what I mean," she said dejectedly. "He really worries about me when I go on missions like this and I just hate seeing him like that."

"Well, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner he can stop worrying," I said brightly. "Think you can make the shot from here?"

"You've got better aim than me," she said. "You do it."

I opened my mouth to protest, but her eyes told me that there was more on her mind than why we were here, so I agreed. We drew in our lines and Macku rowed the boat around so that I was now facing the shore. Two soft plops followed as our lures went back into the water and we were fishing again.

Unconsciously my foot touched the Volo Lutu launcher under my seat that had been modified to fire exploding Madu Cabolo. I ran the details of our mission through my mind to calm my nerves; I already felt my heartlight flashing faster than normal in anticipation of what I was about to do.

A few days after Vakama had begun setting up his guard posts, Nokama had called Macku and I to her quarters on the flagship of the Ga-Matoran navy. Expecting some sort of retribution for our recent loss at the battle for Kini-Nui, it was to our delight that she told us that we had been selected for a crucial mission. While Vakama was building his Bohrok army, his defences would be at their weakest since the beginning of the war. We were to pose as fisherwomen and make our way to the guard outpost on the north-eastern shore of Ta-Wahi. Using a specially made Madu Cabolo launcher, we would take out the guard there and create an opening for a full-scale marine invasion of Ta-Koro.

We were to circulate the story about us needing to fish so as to throw off any of Vakama's spies, something which Macku, as she had mentioned earlier, had found very difficult to do to her best friend Hewkii.

I hadn't found the task nearly as difficult; I didn't really have any close friends to lie to. Being the chronicler, people were always a little wary of me, worrying that I might write something about them that made them look bad. No, they were never mean to me, but I could never really get close to anyone in the same way that Macku seemed to be able to do, even if she was the highest ranking Matoran in the navy.

It probably also had to do with my shyness, I thought. Sure, I could be bright and open when I was one on one with someone, like I was being with Macku, but in a crowd I would just clam right up.

I gave the cliff side another look to see if I had an open shot at the guard. The pitching of the boat would make it hard to take an accurate shot and I knew I wouldn't have long to aim before the guard realized what I was doing.

My thoughts then wandered to the guard I would be killing. Would he have friends that missed him? Would anyone be wondering why their best friend hadn't returned to the barracks that night? Would anyone care that his pity for two fisherwomen had been the death of him?

Imagine if there were no war between the villages, I mused. Could that guard have been to me what Hewkii is to Macku? For once in my life, could I have had a best friend?

Lost in my thoughts, it was only too late when I saw an orange figure on the back of a Gukko land right by the guard at the telescope. Realizing who it was, I was suddenly gripped by a fear so terrible that it felt like someone had poured icy water down my lungs.

Finally finding my voice, I screamed, "Vakama!"

Ignoring our cover, Macku whipped around to see for herself and then just as quickly turned back to me. "Just stay calm! Just stay calm, Hahli!" she told me, sounding as though she were in hysterics herself. "He might think we're just fishing. I'll – I'll row us out of range."

"No," I moaned. "He knows! He must know! Why else would he be here now?"

"It might be a coincidence," said Macku, breathing quickly. Despite her suggestion that we leave, her hands remained frozen by the oars.

"What do we do?" I asked desperately. I could see Vakama and the guard begin to descend from the cliff top telescope to the Bohrok on the beach below. For a fleeting instant, I thought we were going to escape, but then I saw Vakama's orange figure pause by the Bohrok and I could somehow already tell what was about to happen.

Time seemed to slow down as I reached under my seat and grabbed the Madu Cabolo launcher. I fumbled to fire the device, but the trigger got stuck. Working desperately to unstick it, I watched in horror as three bursts of energy shot from the Bohrok on shore towards our boat. My shaking hands caused the launcher to misfire again. The weapon jerked back and knocked my mask off into the water.

I was fortunate enough to fall unconscious before the attack hit our boat, igniting the other Madu Cabolo we had brought along with us and creating a fiery explosion that killed us in an instant.

Macku was not so fortunate.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 34

Though it had been a few days, Takua still was not quite used to being an Onu-Matoran slave owner, especially when his slave was someone that he used to know. It had not been his idea, of course– his neighbour Nuparu had suggested it, and to avoid suspicion, Takua had been forced to buy Tamaru as his slave. Takua mostly used him for cleaning his hut or fetching things from the central market, and he tried to be much more courteous to him than other Onu-Matoran were. Despite the fairly close contact Takua had had with Tamaru back in Ta-Koro, the Le-Matoran did not seem to recognize his owner’s true identity. As Vakama had suggested, to prevent being discovered, Takua had named his new black armoured persona Bour, quite confident that no one in Onu-Koro would know of Ahkmou’s aide.

"Hey, Bour!" called Nuparu, sticking his orange Pakari in through Takua’s door. "Do you think I could borrow your Le-Matoran for a few hours? Turaga Whenua managed to barter a few Bohrok from Vakama for some unrefined Protodermis and he wants me to see if I can rig some to help keep the slaves in line. Only problem is, Orkham can’t carry a whole Bohrok by himself so I-"

"Yeah, sure, take him," said Takua half-heartedly. He had no current use for Tamaru and was frankly glad for an excuse to get the former ambassador out of his sight.

"Thanks, buddy!" said Nuparu, grabbing a silent Tamaru by the arm and dragging him away.

Takua gave Pewku a little nudge and she scuttled out the door for another one of the long walks that Takua liked to take her on. With the introduction of slaves, Takua could tell that things had changed quite a bit since he had come to Onu-Koro in search of the Toa Stone. While the Onu-Matoran had yet to officially participate in the war, Takua could tell that the air of peace that their village once had was fading away rapidly. The streets were filled with trudging green Le-Matoran, listlessly doing as their masters’ commanded. Many had been sent down into the mines and were forced to dig twice as hard as any of the Onu-Matoran.

As Pewku continued her way through the village, Takua’s thoughts wandered back to Vakama’s encounter with Botar. As usual, Vakama had sworn him to secrecy, but Takua doubted anyone would believe his story anyway. What struck Takua the most was not Botar’s tales of the ruined universe below, but rather that he had called Takua an ‘Av-Matoran’. As far as Takua knew, there were only six types of Matoran: one for each element. ‘Av’, however, was the Matoran word for ‘light’.

"Light?" he muttered to himself. "A Matoran of Light?"

"Sorry-pardon, sir?" asked a Le-Matoran who was walking in the street, bowing so low before Takua that his mask scraped the ground.

"What? Oh, I was-"

A shriek of pain split through the air, drowning out Takua’s response. Instinctively, both Matoran turned their heads to the sound of the cry and saw that it came from the Marn Tunnel slave compound. Despite the death of their leader Matau and great hero Kongu, many of the Le-Matoran had remained resistant to the life of a slave and had all been taken into the Marn Tunnel, which had been turned into a facility that allowed a select group of Onu-Matoran to break their spirits through all means possible.

Trembling slightly, the Le-Matoran turned back to Takua and looked up at him pitifully. "Sorry for bother-disturbing you, sir," he said, bowing low once more. He then straightened up and hurried off along his way. Takua watched him go and then urged Pewku to continue. By nightfall, Takua returned home, gingerly got down from Pewku, and grabbed the pair of bamboo crutches he had recently acquired. He led Pewku into her stable and made sure she was comfortable before shutting the gate and heading off to bed himself. Takua could not get to sleep, though, as he was still not used to the Onu-Matoran’s distorted sense of time. He was even still awake when Tamaru returned some time later and collapsed onto the floor.

Maybe I’ll give him the day off tomorrow or something, thought Takua idly as he started to slowly drift into sleep. What felt like no more than an instant later, though, he was awoken by Tamaru.

"Master?" he whispered. "Master Bour, are you open-eyed?" Takua said nothing and pretended to be asleep, hoping that Tamaru would leave him alone. The Le-Matoran waited for a few seconds and then slipped out the front door. Takua sat up, got his crutches, and limped over to Pewku’s stable, where he mounted her and led her slowly into the dimly lit street to follow Tamaru, having given up on sleep. Tamaru scurried through the underground village, but did not notice the Ussal crab behind him. They presently came to an abandoned mineshaft where about fifteen or so Le-Matoran had gathered around a meagre pile of Lightstones.

His Chronicler’s curiosity getting the best of him, Takua slipped off of Pewku’s back and decided to join them. He concentrated on his armour and succeeded in turning it green, finding it a bit easier than it had been before. After tying Pewku to a nearby stalagmite with a length of flax rope, he came out from the shadows on his crutches and hoped to the Great Beings that he was convincing enough.

"Late-greetings, slave-brother!" called a Le-Matoran wearing a light green Pakari, whom Takua recognized as Sanso. "Why the crutch-sticks?"

"I was uh... rock-digging, when the tunnel collapsed onto my legs," replied Takua uncertainly.

Sanso shook his head sadly. "This, slave-brothers, is why we are all secret-meeting tonight. Have you tale-heard of what torture-pain Tuuli has gone through, as well as countless others? I worry-fear that we will not survive the Onu-Matoran’s slave-keeping." The Le-Matoran all murmured in agreement.

"But what can we do to escape-leave?" asked Tamaru. "All caves out are guard-blocked and they do not food-give enough for us to have battle-strength."

"And that, Tamaru, is why I have luck-found an Onu-Matoran to aid-help us," said Sanso, gesturing to a Matoran who was standing just far back enough from the Lightstones that he could not be seen. "This is Akamu, he works with Ahkmou."

Akamu stepped forward and nodded to the group. "Good evening, friends," he said. "Ahkmou, the others, and I have decided to help rescue you from the Onu-Matoran." The Le-Matoran looked skeptical, still feeling quite mistrusting of all Onu-Matoran. "We are planning to attack Onu-Koro and free you all in a few days time."

"The Great Spirit be happy-praised," said Orkham sarcastically. "My master Nuparu battle-fought at Kini-Nui and he has story-told me how your band of Matoran nearly lost that day, even with the Ta-Matoran and Onu-Matoran battle-helping you."

"Yes, Orkham," said Sanso, "but this time things will better-change. Ahkmou has ally-joined the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran in their campaign to conquer-take Onu-Koro. They are gather-bringing their troops to the Onu-Wahi border and Whenua is now much war-fearing. The Ussalry has already been home-called to defend the village."

"So when the fighting begins," continued Akamu, "we will need you Le-Matoran to help us sneak into the city and get past their defences."

"We must tunnel-dig, then," said Tamaru brightly. "Though we may be ever-tired, we must help dig a tunnel to help them into the village. It is our only future-hope."

"Well said, slave-brother," said Sanso solemnly. "Now quick-hurry back to your masters. Will we plan-talk tomorrow evening." He scooped the Lightstones into a worn, old sack, sending the mineshaft into darkness. The Le-Matoran all made their ways home and Takua went back to Pewku, deciding that what he had just overheard merited writing home about.

1 000 years earlier...

The three Toa Metru leaped out of the Vahki transport just as the Kikanalo sent it rolling through the air. They quickly pulled out their Toa tools and surveyed the area, only to see that it was swarmed with a herd of Kikanalo. The largest and oldest of them, who appeared to be their chief, gave a mighty roar and three other Kikanalo proceeded to trample what remained of the Vahki transport. The chief then stared down the three Toa and gave a similar roar. Onewa and Vakama braced themselves for battle, but Nokama, on the other hand, put away her Hydro Blades and walked calmly up to the chief.

"No! Don’t, Nokama!" cried Vakama as the beast gave an angry snort and lowered its deadly horn to point directly at her.

"Trust her, Vakama," said Onewa, sticking out an arm to prevent him from going after her.

"She’ll be killed!" he argued, struggling against the brown Toa.

"Let her go!" ordered Onewa, his mask now glowing. Vakama felt his muscles seize up and he was forced to watch helplessly as Nokama walked towards the snarling Rahi. Now, however, Nokama’s mask was glowing too and she had even started to speak in the grunts and snorts of the Kikanalo. After a few minutes, the chief roared again and the herd began to calm down. Nokama walked back to the two mystified Toa Metru with a proud grin on her face.

"Don’t worry, I’ve explained everything," she said. "The Kikanalo thought we were in league with the Dark Hunters, who have been menacing their territory. When I told them the Dark Hunters were our enemies, the Kikanalo agreed to take us to the prison where Dark Hunters are keeping a group of ‘tall Matoran’."

"How in the name of Mata Nui did you manage to do that?" asked Vakama, awe-struck.

"It must’ve been my mask power, I think it allows me to translate other languages," she said.

"Well then, that’s two of us," laughed Onewa. "Mind control," he added, winking at Nokama.

Nokama got onto the back of the Kikanalo’s leader as Onewa and Vakama got onto two younger ones. While they rode through the plains of Po-Wahi, Onewa led his Rahi up beside Vakama’s and muttered, "hey, no hard feelings about me controlling your mind back there, right?"

Vakama shook his head, but inside he knew he did not mean it. Onewa had crossed a line that day and Vakama knew that if he was to be leader of the Toa Metru, he could not tolerate such actions in the future.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 35

Dark shapes swam below him and the acrid water stung his eyes. He turned his head, but all he could see was murky darkness. A stream of bubbles emerged from his mouth and he suddenly remembered that he needed to breathe. One of the dark shapes then grabbed him so he flailed in panic, trying to beat it away, but it held on firmly and began to pull him upwards. Light started to fill his vision and he broke the surface spluttering and gasping for breath.

"You’d better salute, Amaya," said a familiar voice in an ironic tone. "The Captain’s just come aboard."

Jaller coughed up some of the water that had crept into his lungs and looked about blearily though the blue visor of his new Kaukau. He was lying on the deck of a small ship with only one sail, surrounded by a group of four Matoran.

"Well, well, well, Jaller," said the voice, whom Jaller now recognized as Vohon. "What is the great Captain of Ta-Koro doing floating in the sea wearing the mask of a Ga-Matoran?"

"Vohon?" said Jaller uncertainly, sitting up. "What’s going on?"

"We just saved your life is what’s going on," said a Po-Matoran gruffly. "Though if you don’t start answering our questions, we might have to throw you back in, ‘Captain’."

Jaller stood up and went over to the railing, where he lay down his head, took at deep breath, and stared out to sea.

"I’m not a captain any more," he said quietly, after a moment’s pause. "For all I care, you might as well throw me back in anyway."

Vohon’s face brightened up, but before he could make a smart remark, the Po-Matoran punched him in the side. "Now’s not the time," he muttered. "I know how you feel," he said, laying down his head on the railing just beside Jaller’s. "Back in Po-Koro, I was Turaga Onewa’s top Matoran. I invented the Kolhii battle style and was the greatest fighter in the whole army. He even gave me the honour of greeting the Toa of Stone himself as he came to the island."

Taking a deep breath of sea air, Jaller gave a long sigh and said nothing.

"Did you know that I even saved Onewa’s life once from a Ta-Matoran assassin?" continued the Po-Matoran. "‘Hewkii,’ he said, ‘without you I’d wager that Po-Wahi would’ve been conquered a long time ago.’ He even commissioned Hafu to carve a statue in my honour." Hewkii smiled and stared off at the sky nostalgically, but then his mood quickly darkened. "But all that changed a few days ago at the battle for Kini-Nui. After the traitorous Toa ransacked Po-Koro, Nokama and Onewa immediately summoned the entire army– of course leaving behind guards should the Ko-Matoran attempt another invasion– and they sent them all to Kini-Nui with me in charge of the in-battle forces. I could not have been more proud as I led our troops down into the valley to meet Ahkmou’s army."

At the mention of Ahkmou’s name, the Le-Matoran in the group scoffed loudly and went to adjust the sail. Hewkii shook his head and looked back at Jaller, who was still staring blankly off to sea.

"But when I saw those lava farmers and ice carvers and all other types Matoran who should never have been fighting, forced to battle for their lives all for a tiny piece of land, something inside of me just seemed to crack. It was like my life was a carving and only then was I realizing that the carver had made mistakes. While our side got prisoners and their side got Kini-Nui, I don’t think either of us won that day. I decided to quit the army right then and stay with Ahkmou, only-"

"Only he wasn’t that much better off," concluded Vohon. Hewkii and Jaller turned around to face the red and yellow Ta-Matoran. "Ahkmou has turned what was supposed to be a group pacifists into a horde of mercenaries. We’re not stopping any wars here, we’re only making them worse by hiring ourselves out to the highest bidder. Did you know that he even has the nerve to ally himself with the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran only days after we fought each other like crazed Rahi for some stupid temple?!"

"That’s why we’re here," said the Le-Matoran, joining them. "Not only are we sick-tired of the war-fighting, but we’re done with these Barraki– these warlords!"

"Easy, Makani," said Amaya the Ga-Matoran. "What about you, Jaller? What’s your story?"

"You wouldn’t understand," he muttered, turning back to the sea.

"You were the captain of Ta-Koro’s forces and you saw the error in war," said Hewkii simply. "It’s not too different from what happened to me."

"Yes it it!" said Jaller hotly. "You left because you were tired of the fighting! I left because I didn’t want Vakama to kill two innocent Ga-Matoran. In fact, if I had stopped him earlier, they’d still be alive. It’s my fault they’re dead and now I have to live with that forever! Not only that, but I cared for them– especially the one with the Kaukau. I didn’t even know them and I wanted to protect them– to be a hero! But they’re dead now and I’m not anyone’s hero! I’m not anything..."

An uneasy silence fell upon the crew as everyone else resolutely tried to look at something else other than Jaller. Hewkii, however, patted the now shuddering Jaller on the back and said quietly, "her name was Hahli."

"What?" said Jaller, turning towards him slowly.

"The Ga-Matoran whose Kaukau you now wear, her name was Hahli. Her shipmate’s name was Macku, who... who used to be my closest friend." Hewkii closed his eyes and looked as if he was in another world all together, but opened them after a few moments and continued in a much more gravelly tone. "They were fishing so close to your guard post because the Ga-Matoran waters are running low on fish. They didn’t even know you were there so our ship was supposed warn them and then try to convince them to leave the Ga-Matoran navy, but..." Hewkii broke off and closed his eyes once more.

Jaller looked from him to the other three Matoran and felt as though a fire had been rekindled inside of him, giving his life purpose once more. "This is insane! We have to stop them all now, starting with Ahkmou. It’s up to us to end this war. This is our m– our destiny," he stuttered, still not used to saying the word without ‘manifest’ before it.

"Well said, firespitter!" cheered Makani.

"So what’s the plan?" asked Jaller, getting up from the railing.

"Well," said Vohon, slightly taken aback at Jaller’s newfound enthusiasm for their cause. "We were going to confront Ahkmou just before the attack he’s planning on Onu-Koro. If he refuses to call it off, I think we’ll be able to convince the troops to turn on him. They’re never really fond of battle– I never was."

"And what about the slaves?" asked Jaller. Everyone looked at him blankly. "Once you bring Ahkmou back to his senses or relieve him of power, who’s going to free the Le-Matoran?"

"We hadn’t plan-thought of that," said Makani guiltily.

"We’ll need to storm in ahead of the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran to rescue them, but I think we can do it," said Jaller. "We just need to gather the Le-Matoran together and lead them through a southern tunnel to Kini-Nui, where they’ll be safe."

"Amaya," said Hewkii. "Set sail for the Onu-Wahi border. Jaller, maybe you’ll get your chance to be a hero after all."

1 000 years earlier...

Thoughts raced through Vakama’s mind as he tried to get a grasp on the events that had taken place over the past few hours. The Kikanalo had helped them into the Dark Hunter’s prison, where they met up with Nuju, Whenua, and Matau, who had managed to free themselves from their cell using their newly discovered mask powers. Sitting at the back of the rapidly moving Vahki transport, Vakama took out the Great Disks from his pack and fiddled with them in frustration as he wondered why he was the only Toa Metru yet to have learned how to use his mask power.

Vakama reflected that on a positive note, the strange Turaga who had been captured along with the others had turned out to be Lhikan transformed. Even with his old hero at their side, though, Vakama had serious doubts about his team’s success. Down in the tunnels of the prison, they had found Turaga Dume trapped in stasis, which meant that Metru Nui was being ruled by an imposter and had been for some time. Immediately, the six Toa Metru and Lhikan had hopped into an abandoned Vahki transport which was now heading at top speed for the Coliseum.

As Vakama continued to manipulate the Kanoka disks, hoping to unlock whatever secret power it was that make them so ‘great’, he noticed something quite strange. The two disks he was currently holding had started to glow and seemed to be turning into liquid. He pulled them apart and the effect stopped. Cautiously, he brought them together again and they started to flow into each other until they had merged into a single disk. Astounded, Vakama merged the rest of the Great Disk until they had been all combined into one.

Just like in my vision, thought Vakama. As he got up to show the others, Nuju pushed his way past Vakama to look out the back of the transport as he had been doing every five minutes for the past hour.

"The suns are nearly all covered," he said. "Turaga, can we make it?"

Lhikan hobbled over to him and looked sadly up at the twin eclipsing suns over a darkening city. "I cannot say, Nuju, but it would appear that time is not on our side," he said, shaking his head.

The words echoed through Vakama’s mind and he remembered the task that Turaga Dume– or at least his imposter– had set for Vakama before he had become a Toa. He looked down at the merged disk and it all became clear to him.

Time! That’s it! The false Turaga wanted to use the Mask of Time for his plot! He reached for his Matoran Firestaff and set about sculpting the new Kanohi.

The transport then gave a great lurch and sent everyone sprawling.

"Oh no, not more Kikanalo!" moaned Onewa.

"That’s no Rahi," said Whenua. "Look at the Coliseum!" Everyone rushed up front to the cockpit, where Matau was driving. They all looked up and saw that not only had the suns been completely covered, but that power was surging throughout the city and being drained to the top of the Coliseum.

"By the Great Beings!" said Nuju, using his mask’s lens to take a closer look. "It’s the imposter Dume! He’s turning into a vortex." Swirling clouds of shadow filled the sky as the tiny red figure disappeared and a pair of giant, glowing red eyes emerged from the vortex in his place.

The transport lurched again, but this time there was no doubt as to what it was. Nidhiki and Krekka had finally caught up with the Toa and they were not prepared to let some bad weather stop them from taking their prize.

"Lhikan," hissed Nidhiki. "When you ran away, I was so worried. But fear not, where you’re going, there is no escape!"

"Get away from him!" said Vakama, stepping between the Turaga and the Dark Hunters.

"Or else what, Toa?" sneered Krekka. Nuju, Nokama, Whenua, and Onewa then clubbed the Dark Hunters over their heads with their Toa tools and kicked them out of the back of the transport. A hand formed from the vortex and grabbed them, along with the false Dume’s Nivawk and it pulled them all into the swirling void.

"Or else that," smiled Vakama, feeling quite proud of his team. The insectoid legs of the transport kicked into high gear as they raced into the Coliseum, only to find it completely deserted.

"Where are all the Matoran?" asked Nokama, looking around worriedly.

Whenua’s mask started to glow as he triggered its limited x-ray ability. "They’re down below, fast asleep in strange silver capsules."

"Matau-" began Vakama, but the Toa of Air was already on his way. Once they reached the underground chambers, the Toa Metru leapt out and started loading the capsules onto the transport. They could only fit six, but they resolved to return for the others later.

"Come on!" urged Vakama as they all got back in. "We’ve got to get them out of here. Their only hope is on another island."

"I’m quick-driving as fast as it will go!" called Matau, who steered the transport towards the shoreline.

"Will this even float, Vakama?" asked Onewa nervously.

"It has to," replied the Toa of Fire determinedly. The transport hit the water and went right under, but the Matoran capsules made it just buoyant enough to rise back to the surface. The transport’s legs kicked madly as they propelled it through the water towards the Great Barrier. They did not get very far, though, when a giant winged figure landed on a stone outcropping in the middle of the Silver Sea. He was well over twice their height, with powerful legs, claws, and a black mask that they all knew too well.

"Makuta!" exclaimed Lhikan.

 

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Edited March 21, 2015 by SPIRIT

[SPIRIT]

Chapter 36

"Run that by me again?" said Ahkmou with an exaggerated look of incredulity.

"I said call off this alliance or we will be forced to relieve you of power," replied Vohon, trying very hard to keep a level and confident tone.

"That’s what I thought you said," sighed Ahkmou. He reached into his pack and pulled out a conch shell, which he blew into, summoning roughly three score Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran soldiers, that surrounded the entire band of pacifists (who, in the aftermath of the battle for Kini-Nui, had only managed to muster around thirty fighters). Those who rode in on Husi birds dismounted and the whole army pointed their menacing wooden spears inwards at the captive Matoran, like the toothy mouth of a giant beast. "If anyone thinks they might like to join Vohon’s rebellion, you may discuss it with my friends’ spears," said Ahkmou, crossing his arms in challenge. "What we are doing will benefit all Matoran in the end. If you cannot see that, then you might as well be sided with the Turaga."

A Ga-Matoran wearing a Noble Rau stepped forward with a sickly smile. "Speaking of siding with the Turaga," she said, "Onewa and Nokama have changed their minds and have decided to cancel the alliance they had with you."

Ahkmou stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. "But why?" he managed to say after a few moments.

"It was a trap, obviously," she giggled, rolling her eyes. "They wanted to quell your stupid resistance as soon as they could, so when you agreed to join them in a ‘righteous’ attack on Onu-Koro to free their slaves..." she trailed off, allowing Ahkmou to fill in the rest for himself.

"What’s going to happen to me, Kotu?" asked Ahkmou.

"You’ll be captured... and then tortured," she said brightly. "As for your loyal crew, they’ll probably be imprisoned without food until they’re ready to join the army– Mata Nui knows no Turaga wants those traitors back."

"And what makes you think you can catch us?" said Ahkmou audaciously.

Quick as a Kakama, Kotu had whipped around Ahkmou, with her spear tip pointing right at a gap in Bour’s armour. "He’ll be the first if you don’t all surrender, and let me assure you, Ahkmou, he won’t be the last."

Giving her an intense stare, Ahkmou merely said, "you’re bluffing."

The horrible sound of organic tissue being stabbed with a spear filled the desert air, as Bour fell backwards, clutching Kotu’s spear and making a quiet gurgling sound. A deathly silence fell upon all the surrounded Matoran– even Ahkmou, who was shaking uncontrollably.

"Sure about that?" asked Kotu, taking another spear from a Po-Matoran guard beside her. Ahkmou looked from her, to his small band of Matoran, and back again. Then, with a heaving sigh, he raised his arms in surrender. A Ga-Matoran and a Po-Matoran then came up behind him and threw him to the ground, where his hands were bound behind his back with a length of thick flax rope. "Next!" roared Kotu. The guards proceeded to herd the pacifists into somewhat of a line, spears at the ready should any try to escape.

Jaller leaned his head to Hewkii’s ear and muttered, "on my signal, we make a break for Onu-Koro." Hewkii nodded, with a steely look in his eyes. "Now!" cried Jaller, running for the nearest guard and bowling him right over. Jaller grabbed the guard’s spear and expertly disarmed two others, skewing the mask of a third.

"Hop on!" said Hewkii, who had managed to steal one of the guards’ Husi. Jaller stuck the spear into the sand and vaulted onto the Rahi’s back. "Try to regroup at Onu-Koro!" ordered Hewkii, whipped the reigns on his mount, causing the Husi to dash off through the desert.

Still partially unable to grasp what had just happened, the Po-Matoran guards scrambled for their Husi, while simultaneously trying to help the Ga-Matoran round up the remaining captives. In the end, Hewkii and Jaller were nearly a kio away before they could actually start pursuing them. As Hewkii was an expert Husi rider, it was not long until he had lost the guards all together.

Night fell by the time they reached the mountains of western border. They stopped at the Po-Wahi wall and got off of the pecking bird, which immediately collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily through its thin, red beak. Kindly, Hewkii reached into the Husi’s saddle pack and pulled out a water canteen, which he fed to the exhausted Rahi.

"What’s the point of that?" asked Jaller. "We might need that, since we’re on the run from just about everybody."

"You forget," smiled Hewkii. "I helped build this wall. I might know a thing or two about getting around it." Once the Husi had recovered, Hewkii led it to the wall, and climbed onto its back and up its long neck, so that he could easily scale the stone barrier. Jaller quickly followed him up and back down the other side of the wall.

"And another thing," said Hewkii, as they walked along the Onu-Wahi foothills, looking for the meeting point. "A little kindness never hurt anyone."

They soon saw Akamu off in the distance, who had been waiting for them. He waved enthusiastically, but stopped when he saw they were alone and were looking dishevelled. They explained to him what had happened and he gasped in shock at the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran’s treachery, not to mention what Vohon and the others had tried.

"But we all trusted Ahkmou," said Akamu.

"But he was wrong," said Hewkii. "And this time, he paid the price for it."

"What about the attack?" asked Akamu.

"It’s still on," said Jaller resolutely. "We’ll wait a few hours to see if the others escaped and then it’s into the tunnel as planned. How is the Le-Matoran’s progress?"

"Well, it’s been difficult for them," said Akamu, walking over to a nearby boulder. "But they’ve managed to keep it a secret from their masters and they just finished it this afternoon." He pulled a wedge out from underneath the boulder and it rolled away to reveal a very small tunnel, barely tall enough to stand in.

Hewkii and Jaller took a quick nap while Akamu kept watch for the others. It was not until dawn that Makani showed up with three Ko-Matoran.

"Shasa has quick-sped to Kini-Nui to danger-warn the others," announced the Le-Matoran. "But other than her and us, the rest have been capture-lost."

"Right then," said Jaller stoutly, as though he were back in Ta-Koro addressing his old forces. "Our numbers have been drastically reduced by this recent turn of events so I propose a new course of action. Rather than try to free all the slaves during the heat of battle, I say we instead go for Turaga Whenua himself. With him as our hostage, we should be able to get the Le-Matoran and ourselves out of the village safely."

The six other Matoran nodded in agreement and proceeded into the tunnel on Jaller’s command. Jaller looked at the sun rising above the Po-Wahi wall and hoped that some day soon he would see it rise over an island at peace, but he knew that it was quite likely that he might never see it rise again.

1 000 years earlier...

"You and your brotherhood were sworn protectors of the Matoran!" said Lhikan. "Why have you done this?"

"Why?" roared Makuta. "You dare to ask me why? For tens of thousands of years we have protected the Matoran without any gratitude. Every bit of thanks they give is to Mata Nui, but no more."

"What have you done to them?" demanded Vakama, trying to stall Makuta as he worked to complete the Mask of Time.

"They sleep– much like the Great Spirit now does." Makuta stressed the word ‘great’ as though it could not be further from the truth. "The Matoran slowly grow weaker and lose their memories of their past lives. When they awake, they will worship me."

"Never, Makuta!" shouted Vakama. "The Matoran were meant to live free!"

"Well, little Toa," chuckled Makuta, heaving a huge pillar of water up from the sea, "we’re just going to have to agree to disagree about that." He brought the pillar of water crashing down on the Vahki transport, nearly capsizing it. It was only Matau’s quick piloting that prevented them from going under. Vakama looked off though the dark waters and saw the tiniest beam of light coming from the Great Barrier.

"Make for that gap," he told Matau. Vakama then turned to Nuju, the now completed Vahi held firmly in his grasp. "Get me up to the Makuta, I have a plan."

Nuju nodded and activated his Great Matatu, carrying Vakama telekinetically up to rock upon which Makuta stood. Pillars of water now rose and fell everywhere, under Makuta’s command, pummelling the transport severely. Vakama landed in front of Makuta and looked up at his shadowy foe, who had an unnerving amused look in his eyes. Undeterred, Vakama pulled out the Mask of Time, that shone golden despite the darkness that covered the city.

"How very impressive," said Makuta, slowly stepping forward. "A mask that can control the flow of time itself. Imagine the great things you could do if only you were to join me."

"I can do greater ones without you," Vakama retorted, placing the Mask of Time onto his face. As Makuta shot a blast of shadow energy at him, but Vakama activated the Vahi, slowing down time. Unused to using Kanohi, though, Vakama soon found himself under the mask’s power as well.

Turaga Lhikan watched the battle apprehensively and when he saw Vakama had lost control of the mask, he quickly rushed in to help. He leaped in front of Makuta’s attack, taking the blow and causing a powerful disruption that knocked the Vahi clean off Vakama’s face. Lhikan feebly collapsed onto the ground as Makuta flew off after the mask.

"Protect the heart of Metru Nui," Lhikan wheezed, as his heartlight went out. Vakama took his dead hero’s mask, eyes burning as brightly as his element. He turned towards Makuta, who had already picked up the Vahi, and he fired a Kanoka right at his hand, knocking the mask into the Silver Sea.

Makuta roared with rage and sent a hand made entirely of shadow energy at Vakama. Overwhelmed with determination, the Toa of Fire felt himself filled with energy and he faded from sight.

My mask power! he thought. Invisible, he crept behind the master of shadows and loosed three more disks at Makuta, who shot out his shadow hand once more, only to grab a boulder by mistake, which smashed into him. Vakama repeated this several times, slowly wearing Makuta down as he kept crashing boulders into himself. Makuta would not let up, though, and even after colliding himself with the Great Barrier, he still had much more fight left in him than Vakama did.

"Your people are captured, your heroes are dead, and your city lies in ruins!" laughed Makuta. "What hope does a lone Toa like you have against the being who will come to rule the universe?"

"A lot more now that we’re here!" cried Nokama, who had come with the others. Together, the six Toa combined their elemental energies into one attack, which they shot at Makuta, imprisoning him in a crystal-like shell of Protodermis.

Cheering as they saw their new spirit stars shine in the sky, none of the Toa could have guessed that their victory that day had been one of the many steps that would lead to their ultimate downfall.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 37

As the seven Matoran made their way through the secret tunnel, they would periodically feel the ground and ceiling shake ominously all around them, raining down bits of dust and rubble.

"Those’ll be Kolhii balls," explained Hewkii. "They must have already started the invasion and are trying to cause a cave-in."

"Well good luck to them," laughed Akamu. "After a few centuries of mining, us Onu-Matoran know a thing or two about building tunnels that don’t cave-in."

"Let’s just hope so," muttered Jaller. They soon reached Onu-Koro, where they found the small pile of weapons that the Le-Matoran had gathered for them. They each took one and sent the Ko-Matoran named Toudu to scout out ahead.

"We should be alright," he said, coming back. "Most of the Onu-Matoran have gone to block up the east tunnels from the Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran. Whenua’s in his hut, and from what I can tell, no guards."

"Let’s go," said Jaller. He led the group from shadow to shadow so that they could not be spotted by the few Onu-Matoran that had not yet made it to the the front lines. Every so often, Hewkii would smash a Lightstone by launching a rock at it, giving them better cover in the vast Onu-Koro cavern. When they reached Whenua’s hut, however, they saw that there was a slight flaw in their plan. The Turaga had placed his dwelling well away from the other homes, meaning they would have to be out in the open to get to it.

"Well, firespitter? Can we safe-cross?" asked Makani.

"We’ll just have to risk it," replied Jaller. "And if anyone tries to stop us from capturing Whenua, it’ll be their doom."

They quickly raced across to Whenua’s hut and luckily encountered no Onu-Matoran. As one of the Ko-Matoran, whose name was Kopeke, worked to pick the lock at the door, they all heard the telltale sounds of Ussal feet scuttling towards them. Everyone froze where they were, as running to a hiding spot was well out of the question. An Onu-Matoran rounded the corner on an Ussal’s back and stopped suddenly, staring at the odd assortment of Matoran that were trying to break into his Turaga’s home. Eyeing their weapons, he raised his arms in surrender.

Kopeke resumed picking the lock and with a soft click, the door swung open. Everyone rushed inside, taking with them the Onu-Matoran and his Ussal, so as not to attract any attention. Inside they found Whenua sitting at a table with his head in his hands. He took no notice of them and merely stared down at the slightly battered, green Noble Ruru on his table.

"Where did it all go wrong?" he said to no one in particular. "I had everything I could want– workers, prosperity, revenge– and now it’s all fading away. I suppose you’re here to capture me," he said resignedly, turning towards the intruders.

"We want you to slave-free the Le-Matoran," said Makani.

Whenua nodded understandingly and turned back to the Kanohi. "I tried to fight the Hordika venom," he said to the mask. "It got the best of me and I let my drive for revenge take over." A tremor racked the hut and a Lightstone fell off the wall, shattering loudly on the floor. "And now my village is crumbling all around me."

"Quick-hurry!" said Makani. "Where are the Le-Matoran being kept-held?"

"Why did I make them all pay for your sins?" said Whenua to the Ruru. "Or was it just my ill fortune?"

"We’re wasting time!" moaned Jaller, grabbing Whenua by the arm. "We’ll put him on the Ussal and find the slaves ourselves."

"That would be a waste of time," said Whenua, looking right into Jaller’s eyes. "All of this is. Even if you do free the slaves, do you think that’ll stop Vakama and his Bohrok from just taking them right back?"

"Well then, what should we do?" asked Hewkii crossly.

"You need to go after Vakama himself, that’s your only hope against the army he’s raising," replied Whenua.

"But the Le-Matoran-" said Makani.

"Dead weight," said Whenua, shaking his head. "When Vakama’s gone, then you can free your friends."

"When did we start taking orders from Turaga?" spat Hewkii.

"No, he’s right," said Jaller. "You haven’t seen what Bohrok can do. Vakama was what started this war and he’ll be what ends it."

"And the other Turaga? Do we fight-stop them too?" asked Makani.

"Well, we’ve already got two out of the way with Matau and Nuju dead," reasoned Jaller.

"Sorry, did you say Nuju is dead?" asked the Onu-Matoran hostage, bringing his crab forward into the conversation.

"He has been dead for some time," replied Toudu solemnly. "A Ga-Matoran attacked him and damaged his mask somehow."

The Onu-Matoran appeared to be genuinely shocked by this and looked to the others as though hoping Toudu was joking. Seeing only serious faces, his eyes widened in what seemed to be mild panic. "Did the Ga-Matoran look like this?" he then said, closing his eyes. For a moment, nothing happened, then his armour suddenly turned from black to blue. Everyone present took an involuntary step back in dismay.

"I am an Av-Matoran," the now blue figure explained. He closed his eyes again and became blue, red and yellow. "You might know me as Takua."

"Takua?" said Jaller, half surprised, half relieved. "It’s me, Jaller! Now where on Mata Nui did you learn to do that?"

Takua shook his head and turned to Toudu. "Was that the Ga-Matoran you saw?" The Ko-Matoran nodded, still looking slightly alarmed by Takua’s transformations. Takua ignored him, though, and let his head fall into his hands.

After a few moments, he looked up at Jaller and said, "what happened to Lumi, the medic?"

"He was killed by a Ga-Matoran..." said Jaller, trailing off as he came to the same realization that Takua did.

"Vakama!" croaked Takua in a broken voice. "He’s– he’s turned me into a killer!" He looked down at his hands as though they were covered with disease.

"He’s done that to all of us," said Whenua sagely. Then picking up the green Ruru, he added, "even me."

"Turaga?" asked Akamu, confused.

"This mask belonged to Tuuli, a Le-Matoran who caused some problems for me back on Metru Nui– someone I placed all my frustrations into, until..." Whenua ran his finger along a particularly deep gash in the mask. Makani backed away from him, with a look of utter revulsion.

"Tie him up and put him on the Ussal," said Jaller to Hewkii, looking just as disgusted as Makani. "Takua, are you with us?"

The newly-revealed Av-Matoran nodded slowly, though he looked like his thoughts were mio away from the trembling underground village. He shifted forward to allow Whenua room and then rode out of the hut after Jaller. As the band made their way for the slave compound, though, the tremors increased in magnitude, causing stalactites to drop from the ceiling. Suddenly a hole was blasted open in the south wall, peppering the village with dust and debris.

Through the opening, however, no massive army of Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran invaders could be seen. Instead there were just six figures that looked strange and somewhat unfamiliar, but there was no mistaking who they were. The Toa had returned.

1 000 years earlier...

"Well, Nuju, is our city still standing?" asked Vakama, as his fellow Toa gazed out from the prow of the Vahki transport, which had been named the Lhikan.

Nuju squinted through the lens on his mask and said, "it looks alright, but there seem to be some kind of creatures crawling on the buildings."

Vakama stared at him expectantly for a few seconds and then said, "well?"

"Well what?"

"What kind of creatures are they?" snapped the Toa of Fire.

"I don’t know, the kind that crawls on buildings," retorted Nuju. Vakama rolled his eyes rather visibly and stormed off to the back of the ship.

Seeing this, Onewa shook his head and nudged Nokama, muttering, "Vakama’s become a bit of a hothead ever since we left, don’t you think?"

"Well what do you expect?" she whispered back. "We all saw some pretty weird things on our way to the island above and back. It would be trying for any leader."

Onewa shrugged his shoulders and looked out to the stormy, black sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of Metru Nui.

"Matau!" said Vakama loudly. "I want you and Nuju to scout ahead to see what those creatures are."

"But who will pilot-drive the Lhikan?" he asked, gesturing emphatically to the steering equipment.

"Onewa can do it," said Vakama simply. "He practically builds these things in his sleep." Onewa opened his mouth to object, but with a look from Nokama, he decided to keep his peace.

"Vakama," said Nuju softly, "I don’t think this is such a good idea."

"Nonsense!" replied Vakama jovially. "Matau can fly you over and you can get a quick lesson in Rahi biology."

"No, I mean I think I’ve seen these creatures before. They were on an ancient tablet in my Knowledge Tower– they attack Matoran!"

"And you were thinking of telling me this when?" asked Vakama rudely.

"Forget it," muttered Nuju. Matau placed his Aero Slicers onto his back as wings and called upon his power over air. Then, grabbing Nuju under his arms, he flew off for the ruined city.

They landed not long after and surveyed what had happened to the island they had once called home. Most of the buildings were fractured and there were Rahi running loose everywhere, not to mention strange strands of green webbing that clung from the buildings. Matau prodded one of the stands and shuddered as it stuck to his finger. Nuju looked up in alarm as a strange hissing filled the air. Before either Toa could react, they were hit by spinning wheels of energy that paralyzed them, allowing them only to watch as a horde of the strange creatures crawled slowly towards them.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 38

"We made it!" exclaimed Tahu, looking around at the deserted Koro.

"That we did," remarked Kopaka. "And now that we are free, I propose we end our temporary alliance."

"But what about Vakama?" said Tahu. "We should take our revenge on him together!"

"No, Kopaka’s right," said Pohatu. "Our orders were to return to Po-Koro immediately after our mission."

"Besides," said Gali coolly, "we have our own matters to attend to."

As the six Toa separated into their two factions once more, Tahu looked around bewildered. "Are we going to just let that puny Turaga get away with trying to kill us?!" he shouted.

Onua activated his Great Pakari and grabbed Tahu firmly by the arm. "Yes, now let’s go," he muttered. Tahu gave one last look at the two groups and resigned to follow Onua and Pohatu back to Po-Koro while Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka rushed over to what remained of the Matoran resistance.

"Toa-heroes!" cried Makani happily. "How did you become so odd-changed?" The three Toa looked down at their armour, which had become thicker and silver in some places; their masks and tools had changed shape as well.

"We think it was the Energized Protodermis," explained Kopaka. "After we exhausted ourselves, Vakama threw us into a pit of it in the Makuta’s old lair and it changed us."

"But now we’re more ever-handsome and ever-powerful than before!" laughed Lewa, brandishing his new pair of katana.

"Tell us, Makani," said Gali, kneeling down. "What did we miss while we were trapped below?"

The Le-Matoran explained how Ahkmou had sided with the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran only to be betrayed by them. "Now it’s only us and a few sick-hurt Matoran still at Kini-Nui," he concluded.

"Let’s get back to Kini-Nui, then," said Kopaka. "We’ll be able to regroup and figure out what our next move will be."

"Our next quest-move is to quick-save the Le-Matoran," corrected Lewa.

"We would if we could," sighed Hewkii. "But I doubt we’d make it out before the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran got here."

"And Tahu was right," said Gali. "We do have to stop Vakama first, just not right now."

"Very well," said Lewa. "But we must quick-hurry."

Setting off through the southern tunnels, they all cast sad looks behind at the slave compound– all except Whenua, of course, who was still tied up on Pewku’s back. Upon arriving back at Kini-Nui, they found that they only had about twenty five Matoran left on their side. The Turaga of Earth was placed into a wooden prison set on a thick slab of rock from the temple, lest he try to use his elemental powers to escape.

A few days later, the news came in that Onu-Koro had finally been overrun by the Ga-Matoran and Po-Matoran, who had not only taken the Le-Matoran slaves as their own, but they had enslaved their Onu-Matoran masters as well. Makani, who was now acting as leader of the pacifists, called together a meeting to decide their next course of action.

"We are quick-coming to the final battle-fight," he said. "Onewa and Nokama against Vakama and Matoro. We must careful-choose what role we shall play-have in these bad-war events to come."

"I still say we go after Vakama," said Jaller. "Even with two thirds of the population on their side, Onewa and Nokama have no hope of defeating his army of Bohrok."

"But they have three Toa-fighters," reminded Lewa.

"Still," said Jaller hesitantly. "Brute force alone cannot defeat Vakama. He plans out everything– even using failure to his advantage."

"Sounds like a Makuta," smirked Kopaka.

"Perhaps if we divided his forces, we might stand a chance," suggested Hewkii. "Nokama and Onewa’s forces would attack from the north while we came in through the south."

"A brave idea, Hewkii," smiled Gali. "But you forget that ‘we’ number less than thirty."

"What if we could sway the Ko-Matoran to our side?" said Kopeke. Everyone turned towards him in slight dismay, surprised that the normally silent Ko-Matoran had spoken.

"How so?" asked Makani.

"Matoro is a Matoran, just like us," explained Kopeke. "He may try to act like a Turaga, as Ahkmou did, but we might be able to turn him against Vakama. If not, then we can expose the truth behind events leading to Ko-Koro’s entry into this war," he added, nodding at Takua, who avoided his gaze.

"Very well," said Makani. "You and Toudu will sneak-travel into Ko-Koro to try to good-turn Matoro."

"What should we do while we wait for them?" asked Jaller.

"You and Takua can sneak-travel through the lava caves to seek-find a secret-hidden way into Ta-Koro and maybe even quick-stop Vakama, if possible. The rest of us will heal-care for the wounded and battle-train."

"Makani," said Takua tentatively. "I don’t know how safe it is to confront Vakama one on one." The Av-Matoran told them of his encounter with Botar as well as how Vakama had threatened to destroy the Vahi.

"He could have been bluffing," said Jaller. "I wouldn’t put it past him."

"Still," said Kopaka. "It would be wise to know for certain. Why don’t we ask Whenua to confirm?"

Makani nodded to two Po-Matoran who set out and returned a few moments later with Turaga Whenua in tow. They told him about the mask and he gave a weak laugh.

"So Vakama managed to get the mask back after all. That little liar..."

"But could the mask actually tear apart time itself?" demanded Jaller.

"Without a doubt," said Whenua. "I’ve seen its power with my own eyes– very dangerous."

"And what’s worse," said Hewkii, "is that if we don’t stop him, he’ll go after other islands too! What was it? Voya Nui, did you say?"

"Then it’s our duty– no, our destiny to stop him," said Jaller resolutely, punching his own hand.

"Destiny..." muttered Whenua to himself. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to explain. "Centuries ago, in the Knowledge Towers of Ko-Metru," he said, "there was a Ko-Matoran who came up with the strangest of theories. He was pondering the legend of Toa Nidhiki, a great hero who turned to the side of evil, thus not fulfilling, as it would seem, his destiny. If one’s destiny was predetermined, thought the Ko-Matoran, couldn’t one choose a different destiny for oneself and change all of history accordingly? This soon led to his theory that there were other universes in existence– other ‘what if’s."

The Toa and Matoran glanced around at each other and reached a wordless consensus that Whenua had gone insane.

"What if Nidhiki had remained good?" continued the Turaga of Earth, not noticing them. "What if he had turned evil sooner? What if there was no war on this island? What if-" he suddenly faltered. "What if I had won the disk toss?"

Makani motioned to the two Po-Matoran, who grabbed Whenua by the arms and proceeded to drag him away.

"Of course! That’s it!" he said, to no one in particular. "This whole war, it’s because of me. If I had won, none of this would’ve happened! We’d have made it in time! Why did Tuuli have to suffer for my mistake?!"

Everyone forced themselves to ignore him as he was taken back to his cell and gagged to stifle his ravings. The meeting concluded soon after and the two groups of Matoran set out to prepare for Vakama’s downfall.

1 000 years earlier...

The six Toa Metru hung high above Metru Nui, wrapped tightly in the same green webs that covered the rest of the city. They all felt terrible that they had failed the Matoran, but Vakama felt the worst of all. He had led them right into a trap as they went in search of Matau and Nuju, making the whole situation essentially his fault. Things only turned worse as they felt their bodies alter inside the webs, which suddenly broke and sent them plummeting towards the ground. Luckily, they were caught by six small Rahkshi-like beings called the Rahaga, who explained to them that they had been turned into Toa Hordika: half Toa, half beast.

"And that is why," said Norik, the leader of the Rahaga, "you must seek out Keetongu."

"Keetong-who?" asked Onewa.

"Keetongu!" laughed Norik. "A legendary Rahi said to live in this city. Only he can restore you to your former selves... if you reach him in time, that is."

"And if we don’t?" asked Nokama apprehensively.

"Then the Hordika venom within you will take root and you will remain half beasts forever," said Norik gravely.

"Shame he doesn’t exist," said Iruini, the green Rahaga.

"He is their only hope," said Norik. "He has to exist."

"Whether he exists or not, I say we work on finding the Matoran first," said Vakama, examining how his Toa tool had fused with his arm to form a Blazer Claw.

"Actually, Toa, it would be wiser to complete other tasks first, to allow you to get used to your new Hordika abilities," said Norik.

"Wiser?" growled Vakama dangerously. "You think that just because you stand there like some perverse mix of a Rahkshi and a Turaga that you are wiser than me?"

"Vakama," said Norik, clutching his flame-shaped staff tightly, "I think you need to calm down."

"And I think you need to shut your mouth!" roared Vakama.

"Your Hordika side is taking over, Vakama, you-" But Vakama struck him with his Blazer Claw, sending him toppling into the other Rahaga.

"Woah now, firespitter," said Matau, getting in between Vakama and Norik. "You need to peace-calm yourself."

"Don’t you start giving me orders too, Matau," spat the enraged Toa of Fire. He stormed off for the Coliseum, shouting, as he left, "if you won’t help me rescue the Matoran, I’ll do it myself!"

"Are you alright, Norik?" asked Nokama, helping the small, red Rahaga up to his feet.

"Happens all the time," he chuckled, wearily.

"Should we go after him?" asked Nuju.

"No," said Norik. "Vakama needs to choose his own path at this point."

"And if he chooses the wrong one?" asked Whenua.

Norik said nothing.

 

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[SPIRIT]

Chapter 39

 

The island of Mata Nui was now completely split in two. The north was ruled by Nokama and Onewa and the south was ruled by Vakama and Matoro. In the brief ceasefire that ensued after the defeat of Onu-Koro, both sides set to work building up their forces. In the south, Bohrok continued to be harvested at an increasingly rapid rate as the Ta-Matoran’s skill grew. In the north, over three hundred slaves were put to work either building faster, more powerful ships, or constructing a magnificent palace in Po-Koro for the Turaga. Droves of Ussal carts went to and from the newly-captured Onu-Wahi, taking all their riches to the desert region of the island, allowing the Po-Matoran and Ga-Matoran to forge new and stronger weapons out of the metallic Protodermis.

Meanwhile, the two groups of Matoran pacifists secretly made their ways into Ko-Koro and Ta-Koro. Vakama’s sporadic placement of guard outposts had made journeying across the island without detection more difficult then ever. Several times they were forced to go well out of their ways to avoid being spotted, turning what could have been a few days’ journey into that of several weeks.

With the Po-Koro palace complete, Nokama and Onewa set their sights on spreading their beliefs to all the newly-captured Matoran. Massive assemblies were held, where Nokama would tell everyone the truth about the past and the three virtues, dispelling any doubts cast by the other Turaga.

"True Matoran society is the greatest in the world," she told the crowd, through the amplifying conch shell. "There is prosperity, happiness, and well-being. Together, we can crush Vakama and spread our wealth and knowledge to the whole island. It is our duty to make all Matoran see what the real virtues are and to free them from Vakama’s oppression."

Later that night, Onewa asked to meet Nokama privately in the throne room to discuss her latest speech. They each sat in their thrones (which stood at the end of the room at forty five degrees to the door, allowing them to face each other and their audience at the same time) and Onewa began, leaning on his Stone Hammer with slight weariness.

"I don’t think we should attack Vakama just yet," he said. "Or at all."

"We need to attack Vakama now!" she said, pounding her Trident on the floor. "Every minute we wait idly building things with our slaves is another moment Vakama uses to add another Bohrok to his army."

"And the slaves too," Onewa went on. "We have our palace, I think we should upgrade them to regular citizens."

"No," said Nokama firmly. "The slaves will gain their freedom by proving themselves in battle. Only then will they be allowed to be free."

"If we show how more prosperous and peaceful our way of life is, I’m certain the other Matoran will join us in time."

"Like your element, you would just lie there," spat Nokama. "You should be like water: always flowing, always progressing, and always quenching fire!"

"We should enjoy our prosperity and peace and rebuild before stomping out Vakama," said Onewa. "We have twice the Matoran that he has– Vakama poses no immediate threat."

"Then you’re a coward and a fool," said Nokama. "We will attack now!"

"We have always shared leadership, sister," said Onewa, shaking a finger at the Turaga of Water, "and our opinions have always been equally valued."

"Our opinions are only equal, brother, when our forces are equal," said Nokama with a fiendish glint in her eye. "Recent developments, however, would put me in charge." She waved her Trident at an upper window and a thick rope fell down from it. Then ropes fell down from all the other windows and armed Ga-Matoran slid down them. The giant, wooden main doors then swung open and the two Po-Matoran guards were brought in, each with Ga-Matoran behind them, holding cutlasses up to their throats.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Onewa, getting up from his throne.

"Sit down, please," said Nokama politely, gesturing to his throne. "I have archers with arrows coated with Nui-Jaga toxin aimed right at your heartlight."

Onewa sat down indignantly and made to speak, but Nokama cut him off.

"Lieutenant Kai," she said to one of the Ga-Matoran who had slid down the ropes. "Fetch me the Toa."

"Yes, ma’am," she said, hurrying out and returning moments later with Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu. It only took one look at the armed Ga-Matoran and captured Po-Matoran to tell that something was wrong.

"What’s going on here?" asked Tahu.

"There’s been a change in management," explained Nokama. "Onewa’s conservative thinking was holding us back so I have relieved him of power. You now answer to me and me alone. I have called you here to tell you of my new plan to combat Vakama’s forces."

She motioned to two Ga-Matoran, who left the room and returned with a large crate of small stones, no bigger than a Toa’s fist. They dropped it in the middle of the throne room and Nokama walked over to it, picked up a stone, and tossed it to Pohatu, who caught it with ease.

"When you were first summoned here, Vakama intended to use you to create an army of Toa," explained Nokama. "We thwarted his plan– as it was a crime against nature itself– but circumstances have changed. Vakama is using the island’s ancient, dangerous secrets against us, so we must take drastic measures to combat him."

"Are you saying that we put our Toa power into these stones to let you turn your Matoran into Toa as well?" asked Tahu in disbelief.

"Precisely, Toa of Fire," smiled Nokama. "Why don’t you go first?"

Tahu shook his head slowly, eyes widening. "You’re no better than Vakama," he said. "Forcing your will on others, causing fighting, going against destiny itself... I won’t do it!"

"You have no choice!" shouted Nokama. "You will willingly give up your power or I will take it from you by force!"

"No!" screamed Tahu, shooting a blast of intense heat at the southern wall of the room, melting a hole right through the stone. He then took off through the hole, not pausing to look back.

"Should we go after him?" asked Pohatu, already activating his enhanced Kakama just in case.

"No need. There is nowhere he can hide," said Nokama. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow I will unveil tonight’s events to the rest of the Matoran and then you will start making the Toa Stones."

Tahu had no need to hide. There was only one place he knew of where he could go to stop Nokama’s madness, and upon getting there, he would have no intention of hiding. He blasted all obstacles out of his way, not stopping at all to rest until he reached his destination. He melted his way though one last barrier and finally came face to face with the last being he ever expected to get help from.

"Ah, Toa Tahu, I was wondering when you’d be coming to me," said Turaga Vakama.

1 000 years earlier...

"Do you know why I’ve captured you?" asked the tall, black armoured female.

Toa Vakama merely growled, fighting against his bonds.

"You are coming to a turning point in your destiny," she continued. "The Hordika venom can help make things clearer for you. It can help you see your destination without being obstructed by the path you must take to get there."

"I already know where I’m going," said Vakama. "I’m going to rescue the Matoran and you can’t stop me."

"Yes, yes, of course," she said in mock seriousness. "I could be persuaded to release you, though, if you’d be willing to listen to what I have to say."

"Fine," muttered Vakama. She cut through his bonds and offered to help him up, but he refused and got up on his own.

"I am Roodaka, viceroy of the Visorak," she told him. "Come with me, I have much to show you."

She took him took him to the top of the Coliseum, at the eastern balcony, where she pointed down to the ruins of Ta-Metru. The red buildings and forges were covered in green webs and most had been destroyed by the bioquake that had wracked the rest of the city. Vakama looked down at the wreckage sadly, but he still knew that it was his home.

"It could be all yours and more, if you agree to lead the horde," whispered Roodaka.

Vakama considered her offer very carefully. On one hand, the thought of ruling a vast territory with armies of Visorak to serve him was quite appealing. On the other, he knew that he should be trying to find out how to rescue the Matoran directly.

But if I accept Roodaka’s offer, I could convince her to let the others take the Matoran to the island above, thought Vakama. They’re better off without me, anyway. If it weren’t for me, we probably wouldn’t be Toa Hordika right now, and Lhikan might even still be alive...

"Is something wrong, Vakama?" asked Roodaka. "Do you doubt their obedience?" She beckoned over one of the Visorak and ordered it to stop breathing. The creature immediately froze, but then started to twitch slightly before falling unconscious a few moments later. Roodaka kicked the Visorak over the edge, her heartlight flashing rapidly with exhilaration.

"You say you are the viceroy," said Vakama, watching the spider’s long descent. "Who is king?"

"Sidorak," she hissed with a hint of contempt. "But together, we won’t be needing him much longer. Agree to lead the horde and I can teach you how to be a great king." She proffered her hand to finalize the agreement and Vakama took it firmly, a hungry smile growing on his face.

 

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